The mechanics of the plot are plainly visible from the beginning of the movie, which takes a painstakingly long time to establish the set-ups ahead of the predictable payoffs. A bunch of mercenaries take over the White House and Cale is compelled to protect both the President and his daughter from harm, although the latter hardly helps matters with her inability to turn her mobile phone to silent while hiding from the bad guys.
You know the drill by now, especially if you're well acquainted with the likes of 24. Can you figure out where this is heading? Cale takes his alienated daughter Emily (Joey King, a future star) on a White House tour, after being shunned for a Secret Service job protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) by former college flame Carol (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
Tatum dons the mandatory white vest to play soldier turned cop John Cale. Scheduling may make it a largely unwanted new release, but there is enough solid action and sturdy chemistry between the leads Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx to make this a reasonably enjoyable thriller. This well-worn adage can also be applied to movies involving America's most famous building being taken over by villains, as White House Down limps into cinemas months after the similarly themed Olympus Has Fallen. You wait ages for a bus… and then two come along at once.