Rating :   71/100                                                                     131 Min       

Hitting cinemas not long after ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ this is essentially exactly the same story, as terrorists invade the White House and only Channing Tatum can stop them. Perhaps suffering slightly from being released second, it still manages to be quite fun, in fact various elements work slightly better – the child in peril scenario and some of the fight sequences for example. Similarly, it’s DNA closely mirrors that of Die Hard (88), in fact the character played here by Jason Clarke is very much a simulacrum of Karl in Die Hard, just as here the computer hacker Tyler (Jimmi Simpson) is essentially Theo, replete with one of his scenes being accompanied with classical music. There are also elevator scenes with the heroes listening to the terrorists below them, ‘rescue’ by helicopter plays a big role, and I think one of the lines used over the radio may almost be word for word the same as one issued forth by Bruce Willis all those years ago. But… who cares? Just as if you like one AC/DC song, you will probably like the majority of the rest (they stuck to a winning formula) if you enjoy Die Hard esque stories then they don’t ever really get old, so long as they’re done well. Roland Emmerich directs (‘Independence Day’ 96, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ 04, ‘Anonymous’ 11) but manages to limit at least some of the cheese factor (you can still expect a decent amount though) and Tatum along with Jamie Foxx as the president do a reasonable job overall. Don’t have high expectations, but it should still satisfy any sudden cravings for an action blockbuster.