White House Down - 6 stars out of 10

White House Down - 6 stars out of 10

Wow, I enjoyed this so much more than than “Olympus Has Fallen”!  You knew that comparisons would be made when these two terrorists-take-over-the-White-House-and-all-of-Washington-D.C.-gets-blown-up movies came out at the same time, but this one wins.  While “Olympus” has Morgan Freeman, it becomes cheesy and implausible.  The plot of “White House Down” is more realistic, more interesting, and the script is better written.  This film does not come without some predictability and cliché such as the evolving relationship between Emily and John, the heroics of the president-turned-mega-soldier, and several of the shootout scenes.  The film breaks the mold through its interesting  twists, White House lawn car chase, comedic use of the White House tour guide, and by using YouTube and cell phones as an important plot device.  At the end of the day, the acting is average but the writers made good use of James Woods and Richard Jenkins (and  Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum are totally B.A.).  It provides all of the explosions that you were hoping for and the Capital Building sequence is chilling.  “White House Down” is an action film that is worth watching and once you’ve seen it, there is no need to try the implausible “Olympus Has Fallen.”