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Columbia Pictures
Rated PG-13
Running time: 131 Minutes
Click below to watch the White House Down movie trailer.
In Columbia Pictures White House Down, U.S. Capitol Police officer and Secret Service candidate Channing Tatum winds up protecting the President of the United States Jamie Foxx when terrorists invade The White House.
This movie White House Down Directed by Roland Emmerich is basically the same movie as Olympus Has Fallen, but White House Down is sillier than Olympus. That said, there were a few things that I did like about White House Down that I wish were in Olympus Has Fallen. These things were mostly tactical in nature, which made the takeover of The White House even more unbelievable in White House Down. There were less Secret Service agents in this movie than in Olympus and also the Marine Presidential Guard disappeared as in Olympus Has Fallen. Although I did like the fact that the movie went more into the history of The White House in White House Down, like the burning of the White House.
I did not think I could accept Jamie Foxx as the President, but as the movie went along, Foxx did become more and more Presidential to me. There was still a little silliness involved, but Foxx seemed very Presidential. I liked that he was trying to negotiate a controversial Peace Treaty between the various allied countries in the Mid-East. I had actually liked the relationship that had developed between Tatum and Foxx during the movie. I also liked the fact that the movie played up the Presidential Line of Succession more than the movies have had in other Presidential movies.
Tatum having a daughter Joey King added a sympathy factor for Tatum as he tries to relate to his estranged daughter King with ticket passes to the White House since King's parents Tatum and her mother Rachelle Lafevre are no longer together. Hiding his disastrous Secret Service interview conducted with former college acquaintance Maggie Gyllenhaal from King was rather sad to see, although Gyllenhaal never seemed like a strong enough character to me. King eventually became a cute kid in the movie instead of the strong political blogger with videos on YouTube that King had started out to be. This resulted in Tatum and King becoming a sugary sappy father and daughter.
I liked Barbara Williams attitude about what her husband, the Head of the Presidential Protective Detail James Woods, is doing in the movie.
Having Jason Clarke from Zero Dark Thirty added a certain political credible continuity as an ex-Delta Force operative, although Clarke looks a little funny to me for me to take him too serious in such paramilitary movies.
Computer hacker Jimmi Simpson hacking into the defense system seemed more of a MacGuffin to me than being a major plot line of the movie. Nicolas Wright as the White House Tour Guide I did like in the movie.
The TV news crews were uneven in their gathering of news, but sadly can be the case - especially during a big event such as blowing up the White House.
I liked the idea of "The Beast" - the Presidential State Car - but that eventually became a silly car chase. That could have been great as a ground version of Air Force One. I look forward to someone making a movie about Ground Force One.
The small audience I saw White House Down with actually enjoyed the movie, so if you just turn your brain off and sit back and let it happen as an action movie, you can have a good time.
Rated PG-13 for violence and language. Running time: 131 Minutes.
Click below to watch another movie trailer of White House Down.
Pancho
All people smile in the same language.
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