White House Down

Who would have thought that Emmerich’s classic approach to the action movie genre would suit Roland’s “turn on the computers and generate me destruction of world monuments" approach so well? If you took the best from White House Down (that being Butler with Eckhart and R`s uncompromising nature) and got rid of occasional infantility and family escapades, it would be enough for the local John to say “Yippy-ki-yay motherfucker" and it could make a dignified Die Hard sequel. (2013-10-11)

This was great! Vanderbilt's script is directed by Emmerich with such gusto and punch that I was bouncing in my seat with excitement. The concept of The Rock and Die Hard is distilled into an ideal mix that isn't afraid to weave in action and healthy exaggeration that is ideally put together. Emmerich loves America, but at the same time, he carries in his heart a piece of a sneering European who knows how to sarcastically poke this idol. The acting is top-notch, especially Tatum dispelling the slight awkwardness, and the white tank top at the end is well deserved. Also, the little girl is the best child element in action since Iron Man 3. In a way, it’s a precise hit in every genre discipline. 4 ½. (2014-10-04)

I don't know what Emmerich imagines by the presidency, but it certainly isn’t only boring paperwork and a sea of routine meetings. And it’s his unique approach, which allows a group of terrorists to completely take over the most guarded building in the world in ten minutes and make action heroes out of everyone involved, starting with the president and ending with an eleven-year-old girl, that once again makes the whole spectacle tremendously entertaining, leaving in the minds of genre fans such an apt sense of déjà vu, which in recent years has only been taken care of by a bunch of certain expendable dudes. What does it matter that the film is crammed as many clichés as The Rock is packed with steroids, when everything is deliberately handled with such flair and filmed so expertly and nicely? Moreover, the actors are visibly enjoying their roles and the director takes as much pleasure in each empty clip as if it were to be his last. I'm definitely amazed that the movie got bad review at Cinema magazine. That reviewer doesn’t seem to be a proper gourmand. :D 75% (2013-12-29)

The most honest and entertaining action movie of recent years. Unlike other films winking at the action glory of years past, White House Down has one big advantage - it feels completely natural, unforced, not trying to tell us in every other minute: "Look, we borrowed this scene from here and this one from somewhere else. Laugh, please." And it was made by Roland Emmerich, who may be the last person from whom anyone would expect such excellent and imaginative shootouts (which this time play a bigger role than mammoth digital destruction)... But just think of his Universal Soldier and it becomes clear that the director is at home here too. But besides action, he brought out another important weapon - humor. Lots of humor. Perfectly timed gags (zombies in a limo), verbal shootouts, funny characters that aren't stupid (the White House tour guide). I don't even have a single complaint about the actors, starting with Channing Tatum (he earned McClane's undershirt) and ending with James Woods and the whole charismatic bad guy gang. Not to mention a cleverly written story that can surprise. I give it five stars, and I'd love it if Roland Emmerich made Tom Clancy's “Rainbow Six". (2013-07-23)

I wouldn't exaggerate it with those superlatives, the only thing that White House Down has over Olympus Has Fallen is lightness, detachment, and less pathos, everything else falls behind heavily. Old-school action? Where? Maybe one or two fights and high-quality "physical sounds", the clarity is minimal, the rating is lethal, and the overall editing composition is heavily off. In action scenes, it is mainly the editor who can get the necessary pace into the sequences, and it didn't go very well here. Gerard Butler is better than Channing Tatum, no matter what anyone says, though, surprisingly, the latter excels in comedic and light moments rather than in action ones. And so the film's reins must be taken over by James Woods and his gang, who are constantly showing a barrage of looks and emotions. Perhaps Ronald Emmerich's work is genre-consistent and a tribute to the '90s, but in a direct battle with its older brother, it loses. (2013-07-28)