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White House Down | 2013 | PG-13 | - 3.6.5

A man (Channing Tatum) hoping to improve his life and become a responsible parent is turned down for a job on the White House Secret Service detail. But he becomes embroiled in a terrorist attack on the White House while he and his young daughter are on a tour and must figure out how to save the President (Jamie Foxx) and other hostages. Also with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, James Woods and Nicolas Wright. Directed by Roland Emmerich. [2:11]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - We see thermal imaging of a couple having sex; the outline of two bodies lying on top of each other is seen with no clear detail.
 A man asks a woman for a favor and she agrees in exchange for dinner, candlelight and the promise that "You'll try to get to second base." People talk about a tunnel that it is rumored JFK used to sneak Marilyn Monroe into the White House. A man tells a woman that she needs to "Get back on the horse after the divorce" and "have interaction with a member of the opposite sex." A man flirtatiously tells a woman to call him if she ever wants a tour of the White House.
 We see a man's bare abdomen and lower chest when he is being bandaged.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A man is shot several times in the chest and we see bloody wounds. A gunman shoots a man in the head (we see a bit of blood splatter) and he falls to the floor dead. A man is shot and he falls back on the floor (we see blood on his chest and abdomen). Blood is shown on several gunshot victims lying on the floor and ground. Two gunmen shoot at two men; one gunman is shot and one man hits the remaining gunman in the head with a toaster and they fight until the other man shoots him repeatedly (we see a bloody smear on the cabinet behind him).
 A man slashes the throat of a man as he runs past him (we hear a squish) and then stabs another man in the back. A man stabs another man in the back with a pen and they fight.
 Many police and security officers are shot as gunmen move through a building (no blood is seen, and we hear groans and see them flinch from the blows). A guard in a glass-enclosed booth is shot and we see the bullet break through the glass behind him (no blood). Men with guns enter a room where civilians are being held and shoot two men (no blood is shown). A pre-teen girl witnesses gunmen shooting several police officers and she hides from sight. A man attacks a gunman and uses his gun to shoot another man.
 A man with a gun searches a women's restroom and a gunmen opens fire on him; the man dodges the bullets and pleads for his life, then shoots the gunman in the chest (he falls to his knees and we see a bloody wound) and kicks him a couple of times before leaving the room. Several gunmen open fire on a pool house where two other men are hiding and the house explodes (the men inside get away unharmed). Two men climb through a dumbwaiter shaft and one shoots up at a man leaning inside the shaft (no one is harmed).
 Two men speed out of the White House garage in an armored car and are chased by another car with a high-powered gun on the top and they are fired upon; the cars chase around the grounds, one car speeds through a gate, and one car crashes into a basketball pole and flips on its side; an RPG is fired at the first car and it is struck and thrown into a swimming pool (the two men in the car get out but have bloody wounds). Helicopters are shot at as they approach a building being overrun by gunmen and they veer away. A cleaning cart explodes inside a room filled with tourists and security guards; we see a couple of bodies thrown by the blast and we hear screaming. A grenade explodes and throws a man; another man approaches with a gun and threatens to kill him until another man beats him over the head with a heavy clock. A man drives a car through the wall of a building, gets out of the car and shoots another man repeatedly.
 Military helicopters are shot at, spin out of control and crash to the ground or into a building; one chopper's tail breaks through the roof of a building and the small tail blade spins dangerously close to a man who screams but is not injured; a helicopter is shot out of the air as soldiers are sliding down ropes and they are presumably crushed when the chopper crashes. Tanks move through a fence and fire on a building where people are being held hostage; an RPG is fired at the tank and it explodes (presumably killing the soldiers inside). A missile is launched and it hits a plane, blowing off a wing and we see the plane roll and plunge toward the ground (we understand that the plane crashed and there were no survivors).
 A man opens his jacket and we see a large shard of glass sticking out of a bloody wound in his abdomen; another man pours alcohol on the wound and bandages him. A dead man is dragged into a room by two other men. A man is shown with a bloody nose after a fight. A man is shown with a bloody bandage on his hand in a few scenes. We see a bloody bullet lodged in a pocket watch.
 A gunman holds a pre-teen girl on a balcony and threatens her with his gun. A man holds a pre-teen girl at gunpoint and tells her father "I'm going to shoot your little girl in the stomach." A pre-teen girl attacks a man and he throws her on the floor (she is not shown with injuries). A man slaps a pre-teen girl in the face, and then yells at her and holds a gun to her head. A pre-teen girl hides in a supply closet and a gunman raises his gun to shoot her but she opens the door before he does; he grabs her and pulls her out of the closet, and then shoves her into a room with other people.
 A man holds the US President at gunpoint. A wounded man grabs another man's foot and he kicks him in the face repeatedly (we see the man's bloody face). Two men fight and one wraps something around the other's throat, strangling him. Two men fight with punches and kicks, and they crash through a glass roof and into a green house; one man shoots at the other as he runs out of the room and through a window (he is shown with a bloody face and arm).
 Gunmen shove people and yell at them in a few scenes. Police and armed security move through a building after an explosion and initiate an evacuation. We see snipers on rooftops scanning an area as the President exits a helicopter. A plane takes off nearly vertical to avoid being hit by missiles. Helicopters fly close to the surface of water and circle the Lincoln Memorial in a few scenes.
 Two men climb inside an elevator shaft, jump across trying to reach a door and clamber to avoid being crushed when it nears the top of the shaft.
 We understand that a man's son was killed in a combat mission. We hear about threats on the President after Middle East talks. We hear that a man has a tumor on his frontal lobe. A man yells at another man. A pre-teen girl is short tempered with her father in a few scenes. A man asks his pre-teen daughter if she gets bullied at school. We hear about a man's background while he is on a job interview and that he doesn't finish things that he started; he is not given the job. We hear about the background of gunmen and their activities. A man talks about his 15-year-old daughter wanting a belly button ring for her birthday. A man makes reference to the US Vice President "throwing up all over…"
 A man breaks a priceless vase and another man yells at him. A man pushing a cleaning cart runs into another man and he spills his coffee; the man confronts the cart pusher and then moves on. A man is arrested and struggles and yells as he is taken away.
 We see the Capitol dome collapse. Nuclear missiles are armed and ready to launch at targets around the world. A man opens a box that contains an explosive device. Military helicopters fly very low over streets and people scream as they swoop overhead. A pre-teen girl wakes up and hears the rumble of helicopters over her house (there's no threat). We see a painting of the White House in flames (depicting the 1814 White House fire).

LANGUAGE 5 - 1 F-word and another possible F-word (almost indecipherable among gunfire), 23 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 25 mild obscenities, name-calling (freak, stupid, schmuck, right wing sociopath, hackers, dinosaur, trash, idiots, dim, nobody), exclamations (shut up, holy cow), 13 religious profanities, 12 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man takes a Lorazapen, and we see Nicorette gum in a nightstand drawer and a man chews some. A woman drinks from a glass of alcohol.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Presidential politics, homeland security, terrorism, greed, revenge, death of a child, illness, lying, poverty, violence, respect for authority, disappointment, patriotism, the defense industry, radical regimes, covert operations, diabetes, constitutional crises, military industrial complex, sacrifice, Taliban, heroism, patriotism, treason, divorce, peace.

MESSAGE - Unlikely people can prove to be heroes.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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