White House Down

For F*** Magazine

WHITE HOUSE DOWN

Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joey King, Rachelle Lefevre, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke, Jake Weber, Garcelle Beauvais, Michael Murphy
Genre: Action, Thriller
Run Time: 132 mins
Opens: 27 June 2013
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)

After taking a short detour into the realm of speculative costume drama with 2011’s Anonymous, director Roland Emmerich is back to doing what he does best: dealing out copious amounts of punishment to 1600 Penn. After all, he blew it to smithereens with an alien death ray in Independence Day and smashed an aircraft carrier into its south portico in 2012. It seems inevitable that the maven of large-scale cinematic destruction would eventually make a film centering on the D.C. Landmark.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer John Cale (Tatum), with his daughter Emily (King) in tow, heads to the White House for a job interview, hoping to become a Secret Service Agent. Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal), herself a Secret Service Agent and John’s former schoolmate, deems him unworthy. While taking a tour of the place after his rejection, John and Emily suddenly find themselves, along with other tourists and staffers, held hostage. A paramilitary group, comprising various dangerous miscreants and led by hardened mercenary Emil Stenz (Clarke), begins a hostile takeover of the White House. John finds himself having to protect President James Sawyer (Foxx), his daughter and the various others caught in the fray as a national crisis swiftly and violently unfolds.



A summer blockbuster best described as “Air Force One meets Die Hard, with Magic Mike teaming up with President Django” just has to be entertaining – no two ways about it. And by gosh, White House Down is all kinds of entertaining. Sure, its PG-13 rating might disappoint fans of hardcore action and it’s not going to start a renaissance of ‘80s-style action extravaganzas anytime soon, but this is the kind of movie which has the Presidential limousine drifting across the White House lawn with the baddies in pursuit. We can tell you there’s an audience for that. James Vanderbilt’s screenplay seems to have been written with just the right amount of self-awareness: the movie revels in its relative absurdity like a toddler in a ball pit and has a lot of fun with the premise, while stopping a safe distance short of mocking its audience.

Duelling movies aren’t new; moviegoers have borne witness to such battles as Dante’s Peak vs. Volcano, A Bug’s Life vs. Antz and Deep Impact vs. Armageddon. It’s only fair that White House Down be compared to Olympus Has Fallen, 2013’s other movie about a terrorist attack on the Executive Mansion. While it doesn’t have the cooler title, White House Down does have more lavish production values and being a Roland Emmerich picture, has lots of stuff going boom. White House Down also doesn’t take itself as seriously; at times, it’s almost a buddy movie but with the Prez as the buddy.



White House Down makes better use of its setting and the film features some very realistic facsimiles of the rooms, halls and other areas of 1600 Penn. However, the afore-mentioned PG-13 rating means the violence in this one is of a less visceral variety and while the computer-generated imagery is done better here, it’s still noticeable - particularly during the aerial sequences.

Roland Emmerich’s films are known as much for their “casts of thousands” as for their big-budget spectacle. While there aren’t as many characters here as in, say, 2012, there still are a good number of players to juggle. Tatum’s protagonist is idealistic rather than world-weary and he seems to be having more fun playing the action hero here than he did in the first G.I. JOE movie. Foxx and Tatum make for a decent action flick double act, even if Foxx just doesn’t come off as presidential enough, though he makes up for his lack of a dignified air with cheesy/enjoyable moments like handling a rocket launcher and yelling at terrorists not to touch his precious Air Jordans.



While this isn’t a realistic movie by any stretch, the villains in this one somehow come off as more credible than the North Korean terrorists in Olympus Has Fallen. Jason Clarke is believable, scary even, as a tough, scruffy former Delta Force soldier-turned cold-blooded gun for hire. Jimmi Simpson is a hoot as a campy, bespectacled “evil hacker” stereotype who declares “Skip Tyler is in!” and seizes control of the nation’s defense systems. King gets to be more than just the “kidnapped daughter” and is something of an important supporting character. While Gyllenhaal doesn’t get lots to do standing around in the Pentagon’s situation room, at least she isn’t relegated to the role of disposable love interest. Veteran actors James Woods and Richard Jenkins are also on hand to lend the actioner some gravitas, and Nicolas Wright as the comic relief tour guide is, refreshingly enough, not annoying.

Emmerich has never been a critic’s darling, but his films usually possess some sort of mass appeal and that’s in full force here. Many of his films are set in multiple locations across the world, but the focus on the titular location actually prevents the story from feeling scattershot, and outlandish, exciting action sequences are not in short supply. In this era of action thrillers being too self-serious, it’s good that this strikes an adequate balance between intense moments and levity so that it doesn't come off as a downer, but as a good popcorn-munchin’ time.

SUMMARY: As can be expected of a Roland Emmerich flick, White House Down isn’t nuanced or layered, but it’s blisteringly entertaining and serves up enjoyable summer blockbuster thrills by the spoonful.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 STARS

Jedd Jong

The Dark Knight Movie Review

One of my favourite films, as I reviewed it when it was released in 2008. I may have since changed my mind about some aspects of the film, but have a look nonetheless.

Movie Review                                                                                                                                  19/7/08

THE DARK KNIGHT

2008

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Released by: Warner Brothers Studios

            I was twelve years olds, staring wide-eyed at the screen as Batman Begins (2005) was coming to an end. Gary Oldman’s Lieutenant Gordon handed Christian Bale’s Batman a Joker card in the evidence bag, and bang! I had never felt so much anticipation for a sequel before. Three years later, The Dark Knight hit screens. And one will have to have lived in a cave for that time to not hear of the buzz the movie has generated.

            The film begins with a tightly directed and superbly-shot daring bank robbery masterminded by the Joker (Ledger). From the onset, the viewer is almost directly told that this is not an ordinary movie-watching experience. At the same time, the mob runs loose and copycats of Batman run amok. However, the new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Eckhart) enters as a new heroic presence and Batman’s well-forged partnership with Lieutenant Jim Gordon seems to be making a difference on the streets.

            The Joker, bold and anarchic that he is, comes in to take control of the mob. His prankster personality belies a twisted genius, and he convinces the mobsters to turn to him in order to eliminate the Batman. Elaborate schemes are laid, as the maniacal terrorist holds Gotham City at his very whim and fancy, frustrating the police and puzzling Batman himself. “Some people just want to watch the world burn,” Batman’s loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) offers. And when it comes to the Joker, everybody realises all too soon that is the category he falls under.

            Of course, Batman keeps up his public front as Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy. From arriving at his own party late and by helicopter to inviting the entire Moscow Ballet onto his private yacht, he seems to be balancing both personas delicately but with ease. However, when his former paramour Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) finds herself in the arms of Harvey Dent instead, this provides a tinge of romantic tension.

           From interrupting a memorial ceremony to burning fire trucks (such is the warped sense of humour of the Joker) to his piece de resistance of blowing up Gotham General Hospital, the Joker grows ever more unpredictable, and it seems he will always have the one-up on the good guys.

            From every point of view, The Dark Knight offers so much more than the aimless pieces of fluff that pass as summer blockbusters these days. A thinking man’s comic book movie, the film offers detailed character studies and an exploration into the darkest of themes while serving up such action sequences as a semi truck flipping end-over-end, a police helicopter flying into a trip-wire trap set by the Joker and a Chinese mobster accountant (Singapore’s very own Ng Chin Han) being yanked out from his office and into a plane via one of Batman’s more interesting tools of the trade.

            And of course, Batman wouldn’t be Batman if it weren’t for his impressive arsenal of gadgets. The film showcases his odd-looking but speedy alternate-motorbike the Batpod, as well as his brand new and more agile suit, gauntlets with launching spikes, impact-absorbing cape and even fancy sonar imaging technology, more than enough to have geeky tech-savvy fans drooling.

            In terms of acting, everybody is in top form. In the film’s predecessor, its weak link was Katie Holmes’ vapid portrayal of Rachel Dawes. Now that Maggie Gyllenhaal has stepped in to fill the part, the ensemble seems to be one of the strongest this summer. After Batman Begins, Christian Bale got almost everyone’s vote as the best onscreen Batman-which some may argue is not saying much since the role was previously inhabited by Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Some might argue that Michael Keaton’s casting as the titular role in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) was misguided, but equally as many like it. But lest I digress, here, Bale continues his winning streak. Bruce’s parlays with Alfred and Wayne Industries CEO Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) are also filled with character and provide some respite from the overall intensity of the picture.

            However, Bale is outshone by a mile and a half by Heath Ledger’s Joker. While the young actor’s unfortunate death has cast an ominous shadow over The Dark Knight, his performance truly embodies the Joker like none has ever have. Inspired by the Joker’s portrayal in such dark comic book tales as “The Man Who Laughs” and “The Killing Joke”, Heath Ledger’s swagger, eerie vocal tone and nuanced evil smiles make his Joker almost officially one of the most disturbing film villains of all time. This is most palpable in the Joker’s threat videos, one of the many examples in the film of the torment he wreaks with such glee. One of my favourite moments is when the Joker interrupts a mob meeting with his twisted proposal. Shades of Malcolm McDowell’s infamous “Alex” in A Clockwork Orange (1971) and punk-rockers such as Iggy Pop and Sid Vicious are noticeable in Ledger’s stunning turn. Such is the power of his portrayal that talk of a posthumous Oscar nomination is already floating about. On the flipside, it is very easy to see how rumours that the role got too deep under Ledger’s skin and that it was the eventual cause of his death were birthed.

            Besides the film’s stars, its supporting cast also turns in performances that rise far above average. The always-reliable Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine inhabit their characters of the tech advisor and butler respectively with believability, which is important as their characters seem to be the only two who can truly relate to the titular tortured vigilante. Aaron Eckhart flashes his pearly whites as the idealistic but ill-fated District Attorney. As any self-respecting Batman fan would know, Harvey Dent turns into the disfigured bipolar villain Two-Face. With the aid of truly disturbing effects makeup, Eckhart also portrays this side of the character with brooding vengefulness. Cleaning up after Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal lends much more realism to assistant-D.A. Dawes, even if her chemistry with the leading men seems lacking at times.

            Director Christopher Nolan’s vision of bringing the Batman film franchise back from the over-the-top camp and psychedelia of Joel Schumacher’s ghastly Batman and Robin (1997) (which reached its grotesque zenith with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s exclamation of “Let’s…kick…some…ice!”) with The Dark Knight’s predecessor Batman Begins in 2005 prompted cheers from fans and critics alike. This is very much expanded-upon in the film, resulting in the movie being not so much a comic book action flick as a highly intelligent action thriller and crime drama, albeit one with a relatively high budget. The powerful themes of absolutes, moral ambiguity and corruption are explored with much panache. This layer that belies the fisticuffs and explosions we all expect from a summer blockbuster is refreshingly thought-provoking.

            The Dark Knight is everything this reviewer has hoped for from this comic-book movie sequel and much, much more. While most second acts seem to be plagued by “sequel-itis” (especially those of the comic book movie genre), this picture is taut as the Batsuit, as intelligent as the Dark Knight Detective himself and offers action sequences like none other.

RATING: 5/5 STARS

By Jedd Jong