White House Down

The hardest job interview ever. Emmerich is a destroyer, but doesn’t let the smaller scale restrict him, in fact he enjoys the destruction even more this way. White House Down is on a par with erm... Olympus Has Fallen, in fact both are more or less equally enjoyable. Butler relies on bloody inevitability, while Tatum relies on hamfistedness and frivolous fun that to entertain the whole family. His loquacious sidekick is the president (entertainingly ham-fisted Foxx) and wears red and white Jordans (he’s got what it takes). Vanderbilt’s screenplay contains lots of refreshing elements, absurd lines and unexpected twists (credit card not working at the end) and it’s not the president, but the main protagonist’s daughter who gets saved. It was good to see the unusually eccentric Jason Clarke. Simply another variation on Die Hard (yep, the hero talks to himself, as well into his walkie-talkie/cellphone and sneers at the baddies’ dead bodies), but this time Emmerich-style. An ideal, relaxing family movie with a happy ending that leaves you with that great feeling that everything ended happily (even though the whole government and a load of other people died). P.S.: Probably the most entertaining tour of the White House and surroundings. (08/20/2013)

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. (10/04/2014)

A big surprise for me. The Americans finally make fun of themselves too, and it has to be said that they do it very well. Emmerich has made an utterly easygoing action film that, while it has, as always, a dire plot in the background, is otherwise taken with a lightness I've never seen from him before. Thanks to this, even Jamie Foxx, whom I normally don't like very much, is really comical as the president together with his bodyguard Tatum. It's a pity about the somewhat uneven pace and the related contrasting transitions between genres, when sometimes the fun is lost. The plot then has to be handled by bad guys with nerves to spare, led by Jason Clarke. (07/18/2013)

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% (12/29/2013)

Democrats have also filmed their action blockbuster after Republicans did so. There is less blood, more conscious 12- bloggers, more peace, right-wing radicals, black presidents who are cool and vulgar, more corrupt arms lobbyists, and a less bipolar worldview (but it does not relate to the domestic political situation). Emmerich continues his world-saving mission started by the eco-agitation film The Day After Tomorrow. However, this soft and politically correct derivative of Die Hard shows that Roland's hand is shaking and the film thus reminds us of a joint afternoon of South Bohemian Mothers and Children of the Earth. Everyone here does what they like, and the result is the sunny confusion, to which Tatum and Foxx give some sort of order. If I have to choose between the swollen milksop Butler or the sleek Tatum... I give up my right to vote. PS: Sorry, in the end I vote for Roland the day after. (07/16/2013)