White House Down (2013)
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A Capitol Police officer must protect his daughter and the President during a violent terrorist takeover of the White House.
The story
When a destructive terrorist assault occurs in the White House, a divorced U.S. Capitol Police officer must navigate the chaos to rescue his young daughter and the President of the United States. As the building is seized by a paramilitary team and the capital is placed under lockdown, the officer must fight through the security breach to find his child and ensure the safety of the nation's leader.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
President James Sawyer proposes a controversial peace agreement when a paramilitary team led by Emil Stenz seizes the White House. John Cale, a Capitol Police officer, is separated from his daughter, Emily, during a forced evacuation. While Cale searches for her, he discovers that the attack is orchestrated by Martin Walker, a member of the Presidential Detail seeking revenge for a failed mission. Cale eventually finds and protects the President while navigating a series of escalating threats, including a nuclear threat and an aerial assault. The plot reveals that the true mastermind is Eli Raphelson, who is eventually arrested for treason. The film concludes with Sawyer and Cale being honored for their actions as the peace deal is accepted by other nations.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 131
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Roland Emmerich
- Writers
- James Vanderbilt · writer
- Cast and characters
- Channing Tatum · John Cale; Jamie Foxx · James Sawyer; Maggie Gyllenhaal · Carol Wilkes-Finnerty; Jason Clarke · Emil Stenz; Richard Jenkins · Eli Raphelson; Joey King · Emily Cale; James Woods · Martin Walker
- Genres
- action; political thriller
- Themes
- father-daughter relationship; political conspiracy; terrorism
- Tone and mood
- action; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- White House; terrorism; action; political
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who noted the chemistry between the leads but criticized the heavy use of narrative clichés and choppy editing.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 52% · scale: percentage · review count: 200; Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 43; IGN · score: 6.5 · scale: 10
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- The film was one of two 2013 films dealing with a terrorist attack on the White House.; The script was described as being tonally and thematically similar to Die Hard and Air Force One.; The film was originally scheduled for a November 1, 2013 release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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