3. White House Down (RIP-OFF)
Now, don’t get me wrong here – I’m not a huge fan of either of this year’s take-over-the-White-House action extravaganzas. And to be clear, both White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen are totally shameless Die Hard knock-offs. However, whether you’re viewing them both as rip-offs of that quintessential action classic or as Xeroxes of each other, I’ve got to give the edge to White House Down.Â
While Olympus Has Fallen boasts an R-rating and Morgan Freeman, it lacks the sense of fun that director Roland Emmerich cultivates in White House Down. Both films have absurd premises (read: the same absurd premise), but only one of them truly commits to the ridiculousness of a full-scale takeover of the White House. Stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx maintain a fun, self-aware banter throughout, and James Vanderbilt’s script offers priceless moments like POTUS yelling, “Get your hands off my Jordans,” as he beats a mercenary into submission.
The Die Hard references are frustratingly frequent but, I’ll begrudging admit, well-executed. John Cale (Tatum) even sounds like John McClane as he fights a one-man war against terrorists in a large building filled with hostages. Like McClane, he has a loved one secretly on the inside, uses elevator shafts to evade his pursuers and provides snarky one-liners. Damn it, even the white tank top is exactly the same.
White House Down includes some groan-worthy moments and a predictable final third, but it does include a full-blown Obama substitute – Foxx’s President Sawyer chews Nicorette gum, courts controversy with his lack of military experience, is attempting to broker a peace deal while removing American troops from the Middle East and even shares a hair-cut with our current president. If nothing else, White House Down is the closest we’ll ever come (hopefully) to watching Obama wield a rocket-launcher.
