At one point the Prez says he won’t leave the White House without his Jordans. Worse is the shameless product placement. Foxx doesn’t look remotely presidential, and phones in what is laughably being called a performance. Tatum looks every inch the action hero, but he’s got nothing to play.

Director Emmerich has blown up DC before (remember 1996’s Independence Day), but he’s lost his touch. Both movies take the same plot and do nothing with it. Only one brave wannabe secret service agent (Channing Tatum) can save the day. In Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, a paramilitary terrorist group invades the White House to capture the President (Jamie Foxx). Only one brave secret service agent (Gerard Butler) can save the day. In Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen, a North Korean paramilitary block invades the White House to capture the President (Aaron Eckhart). One accomplishment I can’t deny is that White House Down makes the godawful Olympus Has Fallen, a March release with almost exactly the same plot, look like the better offer.

I mean, there’s dumb and then there’s idiotic.

What’s not to like about escapism? White House Down helpfully answers that question by giving you tons of stuff not to like. I’ve got nothing against a dumb action movie on a hot summer night.

White house down movie poster