Of course, White House Down is not subtle. Roland Emmerich is the director of Independence Day and 2012 ; he does not do nuance. The film revels in its own silliness—car chases down the Capitol steps, shootouts in the Rose Garden, and a climactic scene where the president shoots down a missile with a grenade launcher while holding an American flag. Critics complained that the film was too long and too illogical. But this lack of realism is the point. The film is a fairy tale. It offers a fantasy where the political left (peace treaties, social programs) and the political right (military strength, individual heroism) are not opposed, but synthesized into a single, explosive entity.
The film’s most subversive element is its portrayal of President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Unlike the stoic, invincible leaders of 90s action films, Sawyer is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning idealist who has just withdrawn troops from the Middle East. His crime, according to the villains, is wanting peace. Forced to go on the run in his own house, Sawyer trades his presidential loafers for a pair of Nikes and picks up a rocket launcher. The image is deliberately absurd: the Commander-in-Chief reduced to a reluctant foot soldier, fighting alongside a working-class cop. Emmerich suggests that true leadership isn’t about giving orders from the Oval Office bunker, but about getting one’s hands dirty to save a child—specifically, John Cale’s daughter, Emily. White House Down -2013- Dual Audio BluRay 480P ...
The story follows (Channing Tatum), a U.S. Capitol Police officer who is struggling to reconnect with his politically obsessed daughter, Emily (Joey King). After being rejected for a position with the Secret Service by Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Cale takes Emily on a public tour of the White House to soften the blow. Of course, White House Down is not subtle