Channing Tatum’s Terrorist Action Movie Is Killing It On Streaming
Channing Tatum's White House Down is in the top 10 most-streamed movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Right on the heels of the release of Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which is expected to open at the top of the box office this weekend, another Channing Tatum title is climbing the streaming charts. According to Flix Patrol, White House Down is currently number four on Amazon Prime Video’s most-streamed movies. The action thriller recently rose two points to surpass the films Above Suspicious and Vengeance.
In the film, Channing Tatum plays Capitol Policeman John Cale, who has just been denied his dream job working with the Secret Service to protect President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his daughter with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House. When the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group, it’s up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.
Directed by Roland Emmerich, White House Down was one of two films released in 2013 that dealt with a terrorist attack on the White House. The other movie was Olympus Has Fallen, which arrived in theaters three months earlier. The story follows a secret service agent (Gerard Butler) who finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack and works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.
While the storylines for White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen are eerily similar, the former performed slightly better at the box office thanks to the star power of Channing Tatum. Unfortunately, Tatum’s movie cost a whopping $150 million to make, which was more than double the production budget of Gerard Butler’s film. So even though White House Down earned $205 globally, Olympus Has Fallen was ultimately the more successful movie, with a worldwide total of $170 million against a budget of $70 million.
Not surprisingly, White House Down opened to mixed reviews, with many critics comparing it to Olympus Has Fallen. On Rotten Tomatoes, the action flick holds an approval rating of 52 percent based on 203 reviews from professional critics and an audience score of 62 percent. Although critics applauded the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, they blasted director Roland Emmerich for the film’s narrative clichés and choppy action sequences.
Even though the film isn’t exactly acclaimed, it features an ensemble cast. In addition to Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, White House Down stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, James Woods, Nicolas Wright, Jake Weber, Lance Reddick, Michael Murphy, Matt Craven, Rachelle Lefevre, and Kevin Rankin. Roland Emmerich directed the picture from a script by James Vanderbilt.
Despite its problematic script and cheesy action scenes, White House Down is still a fun and fast-paced thrill ride. Of course, if you’re a fan of Channing Tatum but action movies just aren’t your cup of tea, you can catch the actor in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, with is now playing in theaters. Along with Tatum, the sequel stars Salma Hayek, Caitlin Gerard, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Alan Cox, and Nancy Carroll.
