White House Down (2013)

Not even close to Die Hard but good try.

U.S. Capitol Police officer John Cale (Channing Tatum) dreams of being part of the Secret Service to protect President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). However, he doesn't get the job for not meeting the standards of what it takes to be a Secret Service agent. On that same day, he takes out his daughter Emily, who is a big nerd for politics, on a tour of the White House in hopes of building a better father and daughter relationship and to not let her down because of the bad news about his job interview. A typical day which could have ended normally is disrupted by a group of mercenaries who seize the white house and kill all of the Secret Service agents. It is now up to John Cale to save his daughter and the president before the attackers get what they want.

A somehow similar film was also released just recently which is Olympus Has Fallen, which I haven't watched yet, but they obviously have the same premise: the White House under attack. What makes a concept like this cool yet in the danger of being unrealistic is the fact that a highly secured place such as the White House can be breached. But I guess since Die Hard, almost everybody can now be fooled that terrorists can pretty much do anything they want and how they want it done. Let me repeat and clarify, this may not have been as good as Bruce Willis' Die Hard but that doesn't mean it was bad. White House Down has a share of its own strengths and weaknesses. But being the person that I am, I really prefer focusing on the weaknesses since it's easier to write a review that way :)

One of the questions that popped into my head during the first part of the movie, but eventually didn't bother with anymore, was whether the movie was an action-comedy film. I saw the trailer for this movie a long time ago and there were already a few punchlines in it but I didn't expect the entire film to be drowned in it. An occasional punchline here and there is acceptable. I understand that these punchlines serves as a comic relief to ease the tension and relax the audience so they won't feel burdened with the heavy action scenes but this film had one too many. Bad part is that some of them are not even funny. It tries hard to make the audience laugh, some of it works but some miserably fails.

The plot is actually interesting. On the surface, you see a man trying to save his daughter and the president from invaders. But if you actually analyze the plot and dig deeper, you would see that it is a character-driven plot with slight touches of politics. The protagonist and the antagonist have their own reasons for their actions and decisions. These reasons make the characters alive and would eventually get the entire movie running. Technically speaking, it has great potential for pulling off a great character development but sadly, it fell short. Character development was present but barely noticeable. In addition to critiques with regards to the plot, the build up was dull and half-baked. It didn't give you the feeling of excitement. Most often it was even cliche and predictable. All you need to do is just wait for the characters to do what you have already thought.

On the bright side though, I really liked the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. Although I wasn't really convinced in the beginning, they grew on me as the film progressed. Despite the fact that not all jokes are funny, the humor of Tatum and Foxx rarely fails. Watching the two of them together is already amusing. More than that, they complete one another and is a perfect couple. No this isn't a gay film but what I mean is that because one of them is a president while the other is a police officer, they have their own strengths and weaknesses which might get them killed if they're by themselves but unstoppable when together. However, the duo's likability is not present with the other characters. I really don't like the antagonist of the movie. Some say that when you hate the villain, then that character is the perfect villain. I beg to disagree. Though not really related to the movie, for the sake of debate, let me give a few villains that are loved: Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith from The Matrix, Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight and of course, Ralph Fiennes' Voldemort from...well I'm sure you know. Case closed. The villains of White House Down were a complete letdown. One is a common thief; another is out for revenge, and finally, a mastermind who is morally challenged. Each of the villains has a specific purpose of their own and are only connected to one another by a thread that can easily be broken. 

On the technical side of things, I appreciate the use of CGI but there was a heavy use of it throughout the movie. It was also a bit questionable in terms of looking realistic. They looked too fake at times. But being a Roland Emmerich film, I guess it isn't much of a surprise anymore. So I'll let this one slide but one thing I won't is its lighting. I wasn't even halfway in the movie and I was already complaining a lot with the lights already. There were scenes wherein they were too dark that you can barely see the faces of the characters anymore. I don't know if they did that on purpose but I didn't like it. 

White House Down is a good movie if you wanna see what the White House looks like before and after it's bombed and seized. Expect a few laughs and giggles but remember, not all laughs are good, some laughs are for the sake of ridicule and insult.

Rating: 2/5