The Underrated Channing Tatum Action Thriller Killing It On Netflix

The United States is celebrating its most patriotic holiday with a throwback to an underrated Channing Tatum action thriller. According to Netflix's weekly top ten movie list, "White House Down" is currently the second most-watched film in the United States. Starring Tatum and Jamie Foxx, the story depicts a down-on-his-luck United States Marine Corps veteran (Tatum) saving the President (Jamie Foxx) from a terrorist incursion in the White House.

Originally released by Sony in 2013, "White House Down" was greeted with middling reviews from both critics and audiences alike. The summer blockbuster garnered a little more than $200 million at the box office against its $150 million budget. By modern Hollywood metrics, those numbers are far too close in size for the project to be considered a success.

As Tatum and Foxx are still household names, "White House Down" hardly tarnished any public careers. And even though there's no direct line of cause-and-effect, it's worth mentioning that "Olympus Has Fallen" — a film starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, and Angela Bassett — came out earlier the same year with almost the exact same premise. At the time, audiences might have simply been oversaturated with capital crusaders. 

But in 2023, "White House Down" suffers no such comparisons. And who doesn't enjoy a good Tatum flick?

John Cale (Channing Tatum) is a Capitol Police officer who dreams of joining the Secret Service. While that dream might have lived within him for quite some time, it's shattered within a few moments of the audience learning of its existence. Not wishing to disappoint his daughter, Emily (Joey King), John takes her on a tour of the White House. Unfortunately, he chose the same time to visit that a terrorist paramilitary group chose to strike against President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx).

Washington, D.C. goes into lockdown and anyone and everyone considered professionally capable of saving the president fails. The only one that's left is John. What follows is exactly what you would expect, with John leading the charge against the invaders.

For viewers who are still skeptical of the film, those who have rated the film on Rotten Tomatoes have given "White House Down" a fresh audience rating of 62%. While critics have been a little less favorable, the film still received a majority of positive reviews, meaning that "White House Down" might be worth a watch on Netflix.