Sometimes it can be difficult to rate a movie when the absurdity of it approaches a borderline camp level. Yes, “White House Down” is so silly that, in comparison, the earlier Oval Office hostage drama “Olympus Has Fallen” appears like a model of subtlety and restraint.
Cale (Channing Tatum) is a divorced father trying to mend his relationship with his surly daughter Emily (Joey King). After landing a big job interview with the Secret Service at The White House, he decides to bring Emily along so that they can also take a tour. Things look bad for Cale when he discovers his ex-girlfriend from college (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) is the agent reviewing his application. And things get considerably worse when an international crew of the world’s most terrifying mercenaries arrive. Disguised as technicians installing a new sound system in The White House movie theater, they seize the property in an effort to take President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) hostage. Separated from his daughter and the tour group, Cale teams with the Commander-in-Chief to not only find a way out, but save Emily and the hostages.
However, that’s not all. There’s also a subplot involving the head mercenary Stenz (Jason Clarke). He becomes obsessed with killing Cale early on when his “best man” is killed (presumably Stenz’s best soldier and not a member of his wedding party). There are also back stories involving the Vice President (Michael Murphy), Speaker of the House (Richard Jennings) and a gruff Head of Security (James Woods) who harbors a tragic past. As events progress, staff members are linked to various policies that could implicate them in the evil scheme.
In total, there are enough strange back stories to fill up two disaster films and a good chunk of the opening hour. This silliness eventually gives way to a series of increasingly preposterous action scenes. Essentially, Cale moves from room to room, fighting soldiers in close quarters and avoiding machine gun fire with slow-motion leaps behind pieces of furniture (most viewers will balk at the inability of any of the world’s greatest mercs to hit a target ten feet in front of them). Also increasingly hilarious is just how easily distracted these antagonists are. In scene after scene, a character is mere seconds away from execution only to have their assassins leave to investigate a mysterious noise outside the room.
The film’s performances are all over the map, with many of the characters coming off in an exaggerated manner, while others attempt a serious and grounded tone. Jenkins is so understated that he appears to be acting in a different film. At the other end of the spectrum is Woods; while over-the-top, is at least entertaining. Tatum and Foxx are likable enough and do the best they can with the clichéd script, even managing a couple of passable buddy movie one-liners. Still, Foxx ends up without much more to do than get repeatedly rescued by Tatum’s character. And the repartee between the heroes and villains sound more like schoolyard taunts than witty banter.
Frankly, by the time a helicopter crashes into the building (via surprisingly unconvincing visual effects), our heroes fire rocket launchers while in the middle of a car chase on the White House lawn, and character after character is prematurely sworn in as Chief Executive after the President is presumed dead, the histrionics have gotten so out of control that one starts to feel as if they’re watching a parody of an action movie instead of the genuine article.
Truthfully, I found the camp factor of the final forty minutes amusing. It actually made me wonder if this all wasn’t supposed to be a big joke. However, the drawn-out first half of the film and frequent tonal shifts suggest that director Roland Emmerich (“Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012,” “Independence Day”) might have been taking things at least half-seriously. Ultimately, “White House Down” has more appeal as a slice of cinematic cheese than it does as an adrenaline pumping action film.