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White House Down

White House Down (2013)

June. 28,2013
|
6.3
|
PG-13
| Drama Action Thriller

Capitol Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

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Reviews

shinsrevenge
2013/06/28

"White House Down" is an okay movie. Funnier than "Olympus has fallen", with less action/special effects and a thinner story. The people in the movie joke around often, which makes it kind of entertaining, but it lacks any real tension.Two things stood out in this movie. James Woods' great performance as a likeable and complex villain on the one side and the weak end on the other. Trained pilots, carrying out the presidents order to prevent a global nuclear war, abort their mission because they spot a girl weaving a flag. Sounds legit.I give the movie a 6 out of 10. It won't really bore you and will do the trick if you have nothing better to watch, but don't expect too much.

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The Movie Diorama
2013/06/29

You get yourself a hot young lead actor, a musician turned Oscar winner, a director who essentially ejaculates shoddy visual effects that reek of mediocrity and top it off with a story that feels reminiscent to 'Die Hard'...however feels more like 'Die Soft'. Put them all together and you get White House Down, a film so unnecessary and unfortunate with the timing of its release (the same year as 'Olympus Has Fallen') that you start to question its existence. The White House is under attack, the president and government officials are held hostage as terrorists cause havoc and seek demands. John McClane was busy in Moscow, so they got Channing Tatum instead...honestly, I've already forgotten his character's name. Right, so here's the problem. There are unrealistic films that are fun, and then there are fun films that are unrealistic. This falls into the former category. Why? Well alright, here we go! One scene in particular: the president and a "secret service agent" are driving around the front lawn in an armoured limousine being chased down by three SUVs with machine guns, rocket launchers and assault rifles. The president, and I kid you not, gets a rocket launcher as he peers out of the passenger window and fires it. Seriously? Could you imagine Trump doing that? Sweet lord his hair would be all over the place. To conclude, this film is a visual effects mess weighed down by a "comedic" screenplay that hosts an uninspired plot and derivative action. Foxx and Tatum have good chemistry sure, and Clarke still remains decent (although always chooses poor films). And yes, you could say some parts are enjoyable. But Emmerich is so stuck in the past, that the film immediately feels outdated. It's not 1996 anymore, come on! His excessive patriotism is just too much for me. Don't even get me started on the comedic relief that constantly missed, much like the mercenaries who can't fire their weapons for toffee! Just go watch 'Olympus Has Fallen' instead, as this White House is staying down.

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stephen-317
2013/06/30

Up against 'Olympus Has Fallen' in a bizarre year that has two films with identical subjects, this film falls foul of the 5.0 threshold rule. Whilst being an enjoyable romp that get's it edging over the IMDb 5 score, it then enters the zone of 'could this film have been better ?'. Humour around 5, love interest around 4 (after some heavy editing), action around 7 but very unconnected. Channing Tatum's film (he produced it as well) deserves a strong 6 but was looking at a 7 if the points all connected.

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denis888
2013/07/01

Roland Emmerich is such an uneven filmmaker, he can create a true masterpiece as Day After Tomorrow, where all the elements go together flawlessly and impeccably, and then he can do such a mess as 2012 with all its hilarious idiocy or sequel to Independence Day which is another shameful abomination of all worst clichés possible. So, here, Emmerich is very uneven, too. His take on White House terrorist attack is of very resemblance to Olympus Falling with Gerard Butler in main part. That makes this film a point of harsh critique and often rightly so, as yeah, there are some obvious repeated clichés and trite formula steps. At the same time, the stellar cast of actors here make a good job, and what can one possibly say bad about such luminaries as Jamie Foxx, James Woods, Channing Tatum, Maggie Gyllenhaal, among many, and they do their parts well, very well. The video effects are nice, too, and generally 2 hours fly very fast and the fast pace of the events adds to the neatly calculated suspense. At the same time, several illogical plot moments, hasty twists, laughable dialog and pathetic scenes spoil the mood. So, this is really 5 out of 10 - not bad not great.

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