Car
chase--check. Young hunky lead--check. Get his shirt off--check. High
body count--check. 500 shots aimed at lead and not one hitting
him--check. Movie about 10 minutes too long--check. Hero in a 10 minute
fight getting bashed and recovers to over take villain without breathing
hard--check. 10 men chasing hero and none catching him-- check. Planes
exploding--check. Buildings getting blown up--check. Special effects--
check. Woman as a boss--check. A lot of violence--check. A few curse
words--check.  Countdown to the end of the world--check. Impossible,
unbelievable situations happening--check. A thumping, heavy music
background--check. What makes this movie different, better than the
other 6 ‘action’ summer films? It has humor, an eleven year old girl and
doesn’t take itself seriously..

Channing
Tatum, as the hero John Cole, is ready and able, and probably has with
just this one film, to take over for Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone,
Tom Cruise and other movie heroes over 50. He has the body, the dancer
moves and that impish charm which always helps to make you believe in
him. In this movie he has the help of Jamie Foxx as the President of the
United States and Joey King as John’s daughter Emily. At first she is
annoying, like all 11 year old girls can be but as the film progresses
she grows on you. It is always good seeing James Woods and Maggie
Gyllenhaal never fails to give a star performance. Nicolas Wright as a
White House tour guide is a standout in a role that makes a complete
turn by the end of the movie.

The
rest of the cast consists of reliable performers, that hold their own
in each scene, such as Richard Jenkins, Lance Reddick, Jason Clark,
Jimmi Simpson and Michael Murphey just to name a few.

The
screenplays injects many humorous lines and lookout for the laugh out
loud pocket watch scene. Director Roland Emmerich enjoys blowing up the
White House, this is his second time, and lets the action carry the film
while the cinematography by Anna Foerster will elicit, “How did they do
that?” thoughts.

“White
House Down” is a fun action film for a rainy and/or hot summer day and
solidifies Channing Tatum role as a leading man. It should be doing a
lot more business.