Channing Tatum plays John Cale, a Capitol Hill police officer, Afghanistan veteran, and

divorcee in "White House Down." He was a bit of a slacker, as his Secret Service interviewer
(Maggie Gyllenhaal) reminds him, and can't pass the test to be a security guard for the President.
So, when he has to pick up his waiting daughter Emily, it is a sorrowful moment (Joey King). He
offers a tour of the White House instead of the bad news. Wrong place, right time for Cale, as he
ends up being the de facto presidential protector despite being in the impossible straddle position
of having to protect the President and rescue Emily when she is taken hostage when all of a
sudden a paramilitary force commandeers the location and threatens to start World War III.
Remorse is a powerful drive. I wish I had one of these guilt-driven security guards guarding me:
Clint Eastwood in "In The Line of Fire" (1993), who failed to save John F. Kennedy's life;
Gerard Butler as the president's bodyguard in "Olympus Has Fallen," who did succeed in saving
the president but failed to save the first lady; and Channing Tatum in particular, for all the
"Sexiest Man Alive" reasons, in addition to his dance training agility and his desire to impress

In other near-clone parallels, you can't help but think of the "Die Hard" franchise, with its
alienated children (in the most recent "Die Hard," Emily even calls her father John for a while
before breaking through to "Dad"). Cale receives several blows, but not as many as John
McClane does during combat.

The jokes in "White House Down" aren't all delivered at once because Tatum is too much
of a sweetheart. When the President and Cale commandeer the Presidential limo (quite a car
chase upgrade! ), Sawyer remembers the backseat will not be suitable for riding shotgun, and
after remembering the backseat will not be suitable for riding shotgun, he starts shooting. The
evil computer genius who takes control of Norad squeals "Don't touch my toys." A witnessing
assistant exclaims with awe, "That's something you don't see every day." The "The Amazing
Spider-Man" writer James Vanderbilt wrote a hip script. Bad enemy men can have diabetes; a
White House tour guide asks the marauders to be cautious around the national treasures (Nicolas
Wright pulls off a hilarious performance).

Foxx makes President Sawyer out to be a lot of fun. "I'm not doin' that crap!" he exclaims
as he watches Cale manipulate some perilous cables in the elevator shaft they are confined in.
The president also presents Nicorette very graciously, expressing a profoundly humanitarian
political perspective while maintaining the common touch of a true politician. Any similarity to
the present occupant of the White House is purposeful. With about equal screen time, Sawyer
and Cale become friends and team up as action heroes to take on the world.

Gyllenhaal first strikes the proper note in his role as Agent Finnerty, politely rejecting
Cale while sympathetically observing his departure. It's one method for the New Woman to
fulfill professional responsibilities with ease while allowing her nurturing side to shine through a
little. But following the takeover, she gives instructions like a drugged-out zombie in a hidden
bunker or war room. James Woods delivers a brilliant portrayal as her boss, the chief of the
Secret Service with his own terrifying secrets that serve as the film's driving force; nonetheless,
even in this role, there is levity when we see him reaching for his Lorazepam.

The spooky-hairy special effects are sufficient to quell the summertime "I want to go to
the moon" drive. Anna Foerster, Emmerich's regular photographer, and Volker Engel and Marc
Weiger, his visual effects team, are all present and accounted for. They bring the chaos, chaos,
and impending disaster. CGI can be magnificent when used to depict the seven plagues; of
course, it also functions in action movies. The good news is that there is less of it than
anticipated, and a few of the touches are pretty brilliant, at least for this viewer. You are caught
off guard by an airliner being destroyed with a clever cinematic allusion.

Regardless of how you feel about the White House, our nation, or parts of the movie's
jingoism, young Emily is worth saving. "White House Down" is still too long and too gun-
happy, but she is still worth saving. King is a talented actor who can portray loyalty, bravery, and
understandable anxiety without ever becoming sentimental. Her Emily is the genuine hero of
"White House Down," being incredibly brave despite the fact that you still believe her. She is an
expert at using technology and capturing pictures, just like other youngsters these days, even in
the worst of situations. She gives you hope for the future of the country and the generation that
will soon be in charge.