White House Down

"Quick, Jamie!  Let's go see a different movie!"

I know I'm a bit late on this one, but don't worry.  You aren't missing anything if you haven't seen it yet.  White House Down represents a laughable squandering of a potentially thrilling premise.  Amidst the explosions, the highlight of the film is Joey King, the just-turned-14-years-old actress who plays the part of Emily in the film.  The young actress's resume already features impressive work including The Conjuring, Crazy, Stupid Love,  and even a small role in The Dark Knight Rises.  And her name is strangely very similar to mine...

The film is littered with cliches, subpar visual effects, and poorly executed action sequences.  Its third act walked a line so closely to The Office's "Threat Level Midnight" episode that it risked turning into a comedy.  White House Down features a number of "plot twists" that only serve to make the film bloated and overbearing.  Very few of the characters' motives actually make sense.  

          White House Down (2013)                           Die Hard (1988)

Take a film like Die Hard, which is the most natural comparison to make for a film like this.  Everything Die Hard does right, White House Down does wrong.  Die Hard has a simple, high concept premise with little need for unnecessary digressions, a hero who's badass but not superhuman, perfectly executed action sequences, and one helluva memorable villain.  White House Down features Jamie Foxx as a president who has an affinity for Jordans... literally.  

As the first few minutes of White House Down were underway, I was surprised by how many actors I recognized who were no where to be found in much of the film's marketing... James Woods, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Richard Jenkins, & Jason Clarke, to name a few.  Perhaps their agents recommended avoiding association with this debacle.  You should, too.  

Rating: 1 / 5

SKIP IT

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