Barbara Says:
On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 9-1/2. Only because there is always some general who does something stupid. The action gets started and hardly even slows down. Lots of blood and killing point blank. So if you are one who stays away from violence-then stay away from this movie. But as far as I am concerned you would miss a good one.
Butler is an action star of the first order and does a very credible job of this movie. In case you have not seen the promo`s this is about the White House and everyone in it being taken hostage. Then the bad guys (and they are really bad guys) doing whatever it takes to hold it. Mainly against one lone guy who knows every corner of the White House like the back of his hand. One who never says die but just keeps going. I would certainly pray we have guys like that if similar stuff should really happen here. Because if Generals really are as dumb as movies make them out to be, we are in trouble. So for those of you who like a good action flick I recommend this one .
Cat Says:
I'm an action flick junkie. Yup, I see it all and have very low requirements for a good one that makes me happy. Basically I require good gun battles, which this one has, a few car chases, not much of that here, and the bad guy has to go down in a stunning display, yup, that happens here. This doesn't mean that it doesn't have to be a fun ride. It does. But it does mean I can suspend my disbelief for the two hours I'm watching it. This one makes that easy enough to do most of the time.
Gerard Butler plays a Secret Service Officer who, due to a tragic accident while on Presidential Detail, ends up 18 mos. later, working in the Treasury Department behind a desk. He's not so happy about this turn of events and would really like to get back into the White House. He just didn't imagine that his chance would come when a bunch of North Korean terrorists invade and take over the White House.
Due to a well planned attack (and this is where we have to suspend our disbelief because the holes in this plan and how we know these things work in real life are big enough to drive a garbage truck through) they are able to take out the forces guarding the White House. Butler's character is able to shoot and dodge his way in and, since he doesn't belong there, the bad guys don't know he's there for quite some time.
The small hand to hand battles that occur as Butler battles his way to the President are fun to watch with some great fight choreography. I love the fact that this character gets beat up over and over again and, unlike most action films, he actually acts like he IS beat up! By the end of the film he looks like a barely alive walking wounded man because the character would be if this was real. I really liked that over the films that make it seem like the film star is, basically, untouched.
The President, Aaron Eckhart, is a good guy. There are insider bad guys to hate, insider good guys to love (can we all just admit that Morgan Freeman is wonderful???) and even an adorable kid to pray to safety. They don't muddy the film up with a love story or an affair of some sort. The main character is married but it's kept to the side, as it should be.
There are no lag times either. This is well paced and keeps you going every step of the way. But here is where my warnings come into play. They really tried to make this as realistic as possible. For instance, after the terrorists take out the front of the White House they go from body to body and shoot them in the head to make sure these agents are not getting up again. The gun/knife fights are like this. You don't go to shoot the guy in the leg or cut up his hands, you go to kill the guy so he doesn't get back up again.
My currently Call of Duty obsessed almost 12 year old admitted that it was "ultra violent" and that he didn't expect it. But that is exactly why I took him to go see it. Video games tend to desensitize it. The act of killing. This film opened up a very nice discussion about the reality of war and killing and what it really means to be in a hand to hand combat with someone you have to kill or you will be killed. And that it's a far reach from a video game to the reality of war. The game is supposed to be fun, war is a nightmare. So if you are not trying to get that concept across to your kids then you may want 14 and up to see this and keep the little ones at home.
Due to the holes in the tactical concepts (yes, I read a bit too much and know that a good deal of those holes would be easily patched up or avoided in real life) I had to take a point away from this one. I still give it an 8.5 out of 10. It's a fun ride, Butler is great, the action is fun and yes, the bad guy gets it in the end. Works for me!
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