White House Down

Bookmark and Share

Thu, 07/18/2013 - 14:59 -- Bob Gibbons

By Bob Gibbons

White House DownThis film is getting lost in the summer box office and while it’s not a great film, it’s better than the box office results suggest. The major factor that’s hurting it: it’s the second telling of essentially the same story this year. Just a few months ago, Gerald Butler saved the President and the White House from terrorists in Olympus Has Fallen; now it’s Channing Tatum’s turn. 

And the similarities continue: in both films, there is a White House insider working with the invaders; in both, there is a child involved – and a Dad trying to save him/her; and in both, the hero is an outsider, someone trying to get on the President’s staff who “…just happens…” to be around and available when the bad guys try to take over. 

All that being said, White House Down is marginally the better movie. The suspense is better, the characters have a bit more dimension, there’s more production value on screen.  The acting is still mediocre at best and some of the dialog is stilted. In many ways, this is Roland Emmerich doing what he does best – set a contrived and formulaic story in motion and fuel it with pyrotechnics and one-dimensional characters.  You’ve seen this all before, but Emmerich has added a bit more humanity than in some of his films.  And yet, there are moments in here that just seem so hokey.  This is not awful, but please Hollywood:  When you have this much money available (estimated budget:  $150 million), can’t you hire a screenwriter who can come up with at least one original idea?

Category: