Entertainment
'White House Down' and 6 Other Films That Destroyed the White House
Seems our post-9/11 sensitivity has fallen by the wayside. For over a decade, Hollywood and audiences alike cringed at the idea of films that would destroy national landmarks (hell, The Day After Tomorrow merely froze them), but it seems society is ready to see Washington, D.C., up in flames once again. The very literal White House Down, in theaters Friday, is only the latest in recent years to see the titular landmark completely destroyed — read on to see what other films brought down the White House (ranked from least to most damage), and marvel at how aggressively post-9/11 films have done so.
The White House's Roof is On Fire
Seems our post-9/11 sensitivity has fallen by the wayside. For over a decade, Hollywood and audiences alike cringed at the idea of films that would destroy national landmarks (hell, The Day After Tomorrow merely froze them), but it seems society is ready to see Washington, D.C., up in flames once again. The very literal White House Down, in theaters Friday, is only the latest in recent years to see the titular landmark completely destroyed — read on to see what other films brought down the White House (ranked from least to most damage), and marvel at how aggressively post-9/11 films have done so.
'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' (2013)
Again, little damage was done in the sequel to G.I. Joe, but the White House got an extreme home makeover from Cobra, who seized and flipped the house into an evil empire.
'Superman II' (1980)
General Zod (Terence Stamp) brought about only minor destruction in his attempt to seize power. Still, he made his way into the oval office — with few henchmen — faster than a speeding bullet. Too bad Superman (Christopher Reeve) is more powerful than a locomotive, and probably more useful than a crane in rehabbing the White House.
'Mars Attacks!' (1996)
The under-appreciated, widely panned alien spoof from Tim Burton also inflicted only minimal damage on the White House's interior... but did quite a bit of damage on First Lady Glenn Close's head.
'Olympus Has Fallen' (2013)
The Deep Impact to White House Down's Armageddon, the Gerard Butler-starring Olympus Has Fallen features a White House that has been taken over and blown up by North Korean terrorists. This isn't quite what we were talking about when we say, "the roof is on fire."
'Independence Day' (1996)
One of the most famous White House shots in cinema history is also one of the most destructive White House shots in cinema history. Roland Emmerich's Independence Day proved that aliens were not so welcome to Earth when they blew up the national landmark. Will an Oval Office 2.0 be standing in Independence Day 2?
'2012' (2009)
Okay, so the White House is hardly visible during 2012's Washington, D.C., destruction scene. (See it peeking through in the back?) But seeing as the film depicted the end of all earthly things via earthquake and more, safe to say White House rehabbing efforts were much more difficult.
