DVD
REVIEW: WHITE HOUSE DOWN
11/03/2013

OVERVIEW: From Roland Emmerich, director of Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, comes the hard-hitting, non-stop thrill ride WHITE HOUSE DOWN, available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital on Nov. 5 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Two of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors, Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, Magic Mike) and Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx (Best Actor, Ray, 2005), team up in this explosive action thriller about a capitol policeman (Tatum) trying to protect the U.S. President (Foxx) during a hostile takeover of the White House. Featuring breathtaking action sequences and special effects, WHITE HOUSE DOWN also stars a top-notch supporting cast, including Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Richard Jenkins (Jack Reacher), Joey King (The Conjuring) and James Woods (Casino).
The Blu-ray disc comes with over an hour of bonus features, including an exclusive gag reel, along with nine exclusive making-of featurettes, taking audiences behind the scenes to see what it took to bring the high-adrenaline adventure to the big screen (more details below). Both the Blu-ray and DVD come with four additional behind-the-scenes featurettes (more details below), chronicling the on- and off-screen chemistry between the dynamic leading duo, their willingness and desire to train for and perform their own stunts, a look at Emmerich’s vision for the film and how he was able to achieve it, along with a spotlight on the star-studded supporting cast.
SYNOPSIS: Capitol Policeman John Cale (Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Foxx). 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.
FILM REVIEW: Ok, so we
know by now that director Roland Emmerich, notoriously
annihilated the White House and most of Washington D.C., in
Independence Day, the 1996 blockbuster flick about an
extraterrestrial invasion. And most of us are aware that there
have been lots of movies that portrayed just that, with a good
example being one of Hollywood’s latest releases called
White House Down (2013). So naturally, with Emmerich in the
director’s chair here, one might think that White House Down
is just more of the same; however, one would be quite mistaken.
With the aid of writer James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man,
2012) White House Down turns out to be an action packed,
wise-cracking one hundred and thirty-two minutes of pure
adrenaline fueled entertainment that whizzes by seemingly in no
time. The sequences are so intense that one doesn’t have time
to be bored or disenchanted by a plot that seems to have been
repeated several times over, in Hollywood.
Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe:
Retaliation, 2013), Jaime Foxx (Django Unchained, 2012), James
Woods (Officer Down, 2012) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Won't Back
Down, 2012) all contributed equally to the success of this
rollercoaster ride of a movie. Their roles seemed ideally
adapted for them and I cannot imagine anyone else substituting.
As for the acting, Tatum has now shown us that he can certainly
hold his own in the action genre. And with a slew of experience
under his belt now, he proves to be quite a sturdy action hero.
I was quite apprehensive with the idea of Foxx playing the role
of President of the United States, however, as the movie shifted
gears, repositioned and morphed in to a “Die Hard with a
Vengeance” type of movie, it became quite apparent that Foxx
too can stretch his roles and rise to the challenge. He simply
goes with the flow, doing a sly take on the current occupant of
the White House, without bringing the hardboiled characteristics
that we know he’s so capable of.
Overall, I’ll give White
House Down four out of five stars for great casting placement,
situational believability and non-stop action-packed fun for
all. Furthermore, I think it will be hard for any other movie to
come along this summer and top the combination of action, comedy
and patriotic virtue. It is well worth the visit to the theaters
for this one, though I would skip any 3D showings out there.
Review
By Movi-Man Stan
DVD:
The film is
presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its
theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the
picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good,
a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement
to the picture. It also includes English,
Chinese, French, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Thai,
and Spanish subtitles.
VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9
AUDIO:
English Spanish French
Thai Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles - English Spanish
Chinese French Korean Malay Portuguese Thai
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
A Dynamic Duo – a look at the chemistry between Tatum and Foxx and their dynamic on-screen presence.
Men Of Action -- Discover Tatum’s willingness and desire to perform his own stunts, as well as the extensive training required.
Roland Emmerich - Upping The Ante – A look at Emmerich’s vision for the film.
Meet The Insiders – Shining a spotlight on the star-studded supporting cast.
Ultraviolet