Roland Emmerich's White House Down is a real downer

WHATEVER their political leanings, Americans are said to hold the office of the president in almost reverential esteem.

White House Down

WHATEVER their political leanings, Americans are said to hold the office of the president in almost reverential esteem, but that hasn't stopped Hollywood churning out endless summer blockbusters in which the symbols of the presidency are spectacularly trashed.

The latest, Roland Emmerich's White House Down, perpetuates a long tradition of movie mayhem on Capitol Hill. Emmerich has been the high priest of disaster movies since aliens demolished large parts of Washington (including the White House) in Independence Day. The US release of White House Down followed hard on that of Olympus Has Fallen, another film about a White House raid foiled by a loyal insider. It may be no coincidence that Air Force One, last seen downed in Air Force One, gets downed again in White House Down. While there has never been a shortage of action in Hollywood summer blockbusters, there would seem to be a shortage of plots.

The hero of Emmerich's film is a Washington cop called John Cole (Channing Tatum). Jamie Foxx plays president James Sawyer, who has upset the "military-industrial complex" by announcing his intention to withdraw all US forces from the Middle East and negotiate peace with the newly elected president of Iran. A bunch of right-wing fanatics and mercenaries lead a raid on the White House aimed at taking the president hostage. Foxx isn't the first black president to appear in a Hollywood movie - Morgan Freeman filled the role in Deep Impact well before Barack Obama made it to the Oval Office - but Foxx could just about pass as an Obama look-alike when he isn't wearing those heavy specs. It's one of his most engaging performances. He and Tatum work well together, trapped in a lift-shaft for much of the movie in what becomes a kind of presidential buddy picture.

Much of the story (screenplay by James Vanderbilt) is far-fetched and ridiculous, but Emmerich is a practised hand at this sort of thing and, much to my surprise, White House Down turned out to be a more than passable action thriller. It's a good half hour before the first shots are fired, and the slow build-up of tension is effective. The White House interiors, expertly re-created with their antique furnishings and rooms tastefully decorated with paintings and priceless artefacts, provide a novel background for an orgy of gunfire.

One of the villains is played by Australian actor Jason Clarke, and there's a spirited performance from Joey King as Cole's teenage daughter Emily, who annoyed me by addressing her father as John. But you can't help liking Emily when she turns out to be the film's authentic heroine. I said the story was ridiculous, but it got me in. I recommend White House Down to all disaster junkies and observers of US presidential politics.

White House Down (M)
3 stars
National release