White House Down (2013)

The White House is seized by an armed faction, and a single man trapped inside protects the president. The plot alone sounds like something you have seen somewhere before, but Roland Emmerich cooks this familiar material with unexpected skill. True to a director who made his name with disaster films, he is adept at smashing the big picture with gusto, while planting light, weightless jokes throughout. If you expect a serious political thriller it will not line up, but for laughing and white-knuckling your way through a good time, it is as good as it gets.

What it’s about — The White House is seized on the day he fails an interview

The protagonist, John Cale (Channing Tatum), is a Capitol police officer who wants to become a Secret Service agent. On the day he takes his daughter on a White House tour, he is roundly rejected in the interview, but at that very moment the White House is taken over by an armed faction. Cale, who happens to be left on site, runs into President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx), and the two flee together through the maze-like building while unraveling the conspiracy’s true nature. Meanwhile Cale’s daughter is taken hostage by the intruders, becoming one more reason for her father to fight. Action, a corrupt conspiracy, and family drama all roll along at once inside a single building.

Direction — Smashing the symbol while never losing a sense of space

Emmerich’s forte is scale. He smashes and burns the symbolic space of the White House without hesitation, yet maintains a clear sense of space so the audience never loses its way. It is always plain which room something is happening in and where the characters are headed, so even across a long 132-minute runtime there is little room for boredom. Even premises that defy common sense, like the bold scene of a car chase unfolding on the White House lawn, work gratifyingly once they are on screen.

Above all, this film knows well that it is a light entertainment. Whenever the tension mounts, the light banter exchanged between Cale and the president cuts in to refresh the mood. Unlike other films that carry the same White House siege solemnly, this one extends a hand from start to finish, inviting you to enjoy. Thanks to that honest attitude, even unrealistic developments are received as part of the film’s charm rather than felt as flaws.

Performance — Tatum and Foxx, bickering their way closer

Channing Tatum shows both the makings of an action star and a sly sense of comedy at once. In the unsparing physical scenes he is dependable, and when revealing his fatherly love for his daughter he is unexpectedly delicate. The president played by Jamie Foxx moves between dignity and humane clumsiness, forming a good rapport with Cale. The image of the two actors bickering their way closer amid crisis is the greatest pleasure propping up this film.

The supporting players do their part too. Maggie Gyllenhaal anchors the film as a Secret Service agent struggling to manage the situation, and Jason Clarke adds tension as a cold-blooded intruder. Joey King, playing Cale’s daughter, shows a clear presence despite her young age, lending emotional weight to the late crisis scenes.

What the film says — What protects power is one father’s desperation

It is not a film that puts forward a grand message. It simply follows faithfully the old appeal of the action genre, the story of an ordinary person who happens to become a hero. The sentiment the film slyly tosses out is that when the center of power is threatened, what ultimately protects it is not a glamorous title but one father’s desperation to protect his family. It comes across not heavily, but clearly.

Ratings & reception

This work’s IMDb rating is 6.3, its Rotten Tomatoes freshness is 52 percent, and its Metacritic score is 52 out of 100. The critical response was middling, with no few voices pointing out the unrealistic premise and familiar structure. Compared with another film of similar material released the same year, it also lost out somewhat at the box office. Still, its entertainment value and the rapport of the two lead actors drew comparatively generous assessment, and many hold the opinion that its satisfaction as light, enjoyable action is above its score.

Verdict

If you are after a film of depth, I would recommend another work. But if you want to enjoy refreshing action and a cheerful rapport without any burden on a weekend evening, choices like this are rare. It knows precisely what kind of film it is trying to be, and the skill to carry that through to the end is unmistakable. To that clarity and merriment I give ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Viewers seeking refreshing popcorn action to enjoy with the mind emptied
• Those who want to see the buddy rapport of Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx
• Anyone who loves a brisk romp unfolding within a single space