White House Down (11/4/2013)

Rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action and violence including intense gunfire and explosions, some language and a brief sexual image.

Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Woods

Directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow)

I liked this film the first time I saw it…when it was called Olympus Has Fallen.

Capitol Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it’s up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

This is the third (and least enjoyable) movie this year to be based on the Die Hard template (A Good Day To Die Hard and Olympus Has Fallen). White House Down is yet another disappointing effort from Director Roland Emmerich. Sure he loves to blow up or completely destroy American monuments in spectacular fashion with an A-list cast, but it just never lives up to the hype.

Everyone knows Channing Tatum is my new Matthew McConaughey. No he’s not a new man-crush, he’s simply the most annoying, untalented actor on the A-list. Perhaps I’ll change my mind if either one of them can do a movie without taking off their shirts. And Jamie Foxx as the sneaker-wearing-rocket-launcher-dropping president was just ridiculous.

I liked Olympus Has Fallen because it was a serious action film. Whereas this one comes off as silly and clumsy…even going as far as attempting to combine hot button political issues with mindless summer action sequences.

Speaking of action, there is plenty of it, especially during the initial hostile takeover and in an utterly stupid car chase around the White House lawn. But with no substance…it’s a “Coaster” for me.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is no sex for nudity, but there is a scene where we see thermal imaging of a couple having sex; the outline of two bodies lying on top of each other is seen with no clear detail.

The language is on the mild side for a PG-13 film with 1 f-word and several other profanities.

There’s a lot of violence, but most of it is on a grand scale — explosions, helicopters/planes crashing, and we don’t see a lot of the deaths up close. There are a few hand-to-hand combat scenes and a tense hostage situation in which people are executed or wounded.

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. Would you call John a hero? Why?


2. What are some other qualities of a hero?


3. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:15
   
   Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
   
   Would you describe a person who does not pay back wrong for wrong, and always strives to do what is good for everyone else as a hero? Why?


4. How can you be a hero in your home? In your school? On your team?