DVD Review: White House Down

STUDIO: Sony | DIRECTOR: Roland Emmerich | CAST: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Richard Jenkins
BLU-RAY & DVD RELEASE DATE: 11/5/2013 | PRICE: DVD $30.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $40.99
BONUSES: featurettes SPECS: PG-13 | 132 min. | Action | 2.40:1 aspect ratio | 5.1 Dolby Digital audio | English, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin Simplified), Chinese (Mandarin Traditional), French, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai subtitles

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) really loves to blow up the U.S. capitol. The difference in White House Down is that he does in smaller sections.

The movie is pretty laughable, although Emmerich keeps the action movie and there are a few one-liners to keep you mildly entertained. White House Down also is the second film in 2013 to feature terrorists attacking the capitol, after Olympus Has Fallen, and in comparison, you’re safer with Olympus. But both are still rip-offs of Die Hard substituting the Nakatomi Plaza with the Oval Office.

In White House Down, Channing Tatum (Side Effects) stars as John Cale (not to be confused with Die Hard‘s John McClane), a security guard who wants to be in the secret service. After he fails his interview, he ends up in the right place in the right time when terrorist take over the White House while Tatum’s John is on a tour with his President-obsessed daughter.

Tatum performs his stunts with enthusiasm, but it’s difficult to believe he really wants a job in the secret service the way he jokes around with the President (Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained). Maggie Gyllenhaal (Hysteria) is wasted as a Secret Service agent, and James Woods (Straw Dogs) is serviceable but a bit over-the-top as her boss. Richard Jenkins (Killing Them Softly) is equally wasted as the Speaker of the House.

Still, White House Down does provide plenty of ass-kicking action and a few laughs, which are good for a couple hours entertainment.

The DVD has four featurettes, which are actually better than the average making-ofs.

“A Dynamic Duo” follows Tatum and Foxx as they joke around behind the scenes, and Emmerich talks about his love of blowing up the White House in “Roland Emmerich: Upping the Ante.” Stunt men and others praise Tatum for his stunt ability in “Men of Action,” and other actors get their say about the film in “Meet the Insiders.”

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