White House Down 2013
Director: Roland Emmerich
Writer: James Vanderbilt
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Joey King
Rating: 3.8/5
Firstly, for some reason, rating things out of 5 seems to be the norm i.e. 5-star service, 5-star restaurant, 5-star hotels etc. Rating things out of 10 seems to go more with things like assignments in school, beauty pageants, competitions and so on and so forth. So I’m going to try this for a few more movies and see how it goes.
I remember when White House Down AND Olympus Has Fallen were both released round about the same time. It might feel like an over-saturation of ‘White House’-related disaster movies BUT both films, despite having such a famous monument as their backdrop, were able to give off a very different ‘feel’. Olympus Has Fallen was straight-laced, serious action with what I can only describe as a very ‘menacing’ feel to it i.e. the characters. White House Down, which was just as much serious, was more ‘humanized’ with doses of humour and definitely more dialogue but with equal amounts of action thrown in.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. It was action-packed but had humorous moments and scenes. John Cale is a retired Marine sergeant, who is now working as a United States Capitol police officer after his tour in Afghanistan. Emily Cale is his daughter, a die-hard follower and enthusiast of political affairs and especially of President James W. Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). However, she has a rocky relationship with her father (John Cale) who has been absent from her life for almost 10 years and is trying desperately to ‘make it up’ to her. So, he manages to get two passes for the White House, for himself and Emily, firstly, so that she can finally visit the White House and secondly, for John to give the interview to join the Secret Service. Then the action starts from there.
James Woods plays Martin Walker, the head of the Presidential detail who lost his son in a covert operation ordered by the President which went wrong. You can sense his ‘condescension’ towards the President which he plays ‘o-so-well’. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Carol Finnerty, a Secret Service agent and old acquaintance of John Cale.
I really wasn’t sure how the casting would turn out. But by not making Channing Tatum’s character, John Cale, some hotshot Secret Service agent already, and making Jamie Foxx’s character, President James W. Sawyer, a President trying to leave behind a legacy and change, the plot of the movie managed to work quite well. John Cale was not himself a particular fan of the President or of ANY politician and Jamie Foxx as President was humorous, sympathetic and yet in true ‘presidential’ fashion, tough as hell (the scene with Emily Cale played by Joey King). The characters and their stories were well-put together and I like the twist at the end (watch to find out).
The action sequences were very much up-to-the-mark but I appreciate how they were used to support the story and the characters whereas in Olympus Has Fallen, the action was ‘mind-boggling’ and really the fight sequences, the acting, all of it made up the body of the movie whose core was in fact, the action sequences. Emily Cale’s character in White House Down is WAY too smart and I will admit, at times, I got a little annoyed but turns out that she really is probably the ‘unsung’ hero of the movie.
So, if you’re looking for an action-centered movie but with good acting, story-line and plot, then I would suggest Olympus Has Fallen. But if you want a movie which has equal doses of action and humour and more character-driven plot and story then White House Down is the one for you. Better yet, watch them both!
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