13 years after it was first released, the most blatant Die Hard rip-off (with a pinch of Reacher thrown in for good measure) is rising again on streaming. After Bruce Willis’ seminal Die Hard was released back in 1988, there have been a slew of everyman takes on a criminal organization in a single-location-type action thrillers produced every year by Hollywood. Everything from Steven Seagal’s Under Siege to Nicolas Cage’s Con Air, Harrison Ford’s Air Force One, and even Gerard Butler’s Olympus Has Fallen follows the Die Hard formula. But, in the same year as the latter movie, another Die Hard rip-off was released. Despite being seemingly forgotten, the movie has made an unexpected comeback on streaming.
Directed by Independence Day’s Roland Emmerich, White House Down is now available to stream on Sony Pictures Core (the new PlayStation movie streaming app). After being added to the platform on Jul. 1, the film has shot up the streaming charts and is one of the most popular movies on Sony Pictures Core this week. At the time of writing, White House Down is the ninth most popular movie on Sony Pictures Core this week. Sticking with the action theme, the Underworld franchise is also making a surprise return on the platform, with five films in the franchise, including the original Underworld, holding the top five places on the chart.
White House Down is the epitome of an American power fantasy action thriller. Picture this: the White House is under attack from terrorists, and the Secret Service is incapacitated. Only you can take down the bad guys and save the President and his family. If you’ve ever daydreamed about such a scenario, White House Down took things a step further and turned it into a $150 million movie. With that extraordinary budget, Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx were cast to lead the film, alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joey King, Jason Clarke, James Woods, and Richard Jenkins.
‘White House Down’ Is an Underrated Action Epic
White House Down is often brushed off as a Die Hard rip-off with a Presidential veneer. In many regards, the film is exactly that – Channing Tatum even wears the signature white vest for much of the movie. But, look beyond the narrative of its ties to Die Hard, and you’ll see that (White House Down) is a tremendous action movie in its own right.
It might not have received industry-changing scores on Rotten Tomatoes (52% on Rotten Tomatoes), but its streaming success on Sony Pictures Core proves that the film has developed something of a cult fan base. After all, the movie will take all the positivity it can get, as it only grossed $205 million at the worldwide box office.
‘White House Down’ or ‘Olympus Has Fallen’?
Phil Caruso/©FilmDistrict/Courtesy Everett Collection
Not only is White House Down a Die Hard rip-off, but it’s also a carbon copy of another 2013 action thriller: Gerard Butler’s aforementioned Olympus Has Fallen. Released just months apart, it’s almost as though two directors received the same script and competed to make a better movie with an identical story. Olympus Has Fallen is the more serious (and successful) of the two, while White House Down leans more into the absurd nature of the entire scenario, while still being action-packed. For that reason, White House Down also draws some comparisons to Prime Video’s one-man-army action thriller, Reacher.
Release Date
June 27, 2013
Runtime
131 minutes