i hate the term “guilty pleasure”. I consider hiding behind those words to admit with a small mouth that you liked a movie as an act of hypocrisy as big as talking about “high horror” to justify having enjoyed a horror film; and if I start this article with this reflection it is because I am going to talk about a film that many adjectives with this concept. This is none other than ‘Target: The White House’.
The 2013 film directed by the always satisfying Antoine Fuqua provided a couple of hours of top-notch entertainment that, clichés and platitudes aside, he rose as one of the great actioners of his year. An appetizing cocktail of shots, explosions and lapidary phrases that evoked the spirit of the most casual 90s action cinema.
Back to the past
But be careful, because I am not the only one who defended – and defends – tooth and nail the title starring Gerard Butler. As the Scotsman recounted in an interview with Uproxx, none other than Robert Downey Jr. personally wrote him an email asking for more deliveries of a potential saga – which ended up materializing without the rotation of directors being too good for him.
This is how Butler explained the anecdote while reflected on the links between ‘Target: The White House’ and the actioners 90’s.
“Robert Downey Jr. wrote me the nicest email after ‘Target: The White House.’ He was like, ‘We need more of these movies.’ These are the movies I watched as a kid when I was in New York, where the people were yelling at the screen and throwing things and clapping and cheering like ‘No!’ I think that’s what this movie is, a return to that, where you are literally part of the energy of the group and everyone is terrified or cheering you on
They are fun, and there are several reasons why they have survived. There are reasons that make the public appear. It’s a throwback to the ’90s movies where you’re like, ‘Come on!’ Another thing I have to say about the movie is that it has a lot of elements. It’s a drama, it’s an action movie, there are survival elements, it’s a disaster movie…”
Both Downey Jr. and Butler are more right than a saint; we need more pleasures like ‘Target: The White House’ to enjoy them without a trace of guilt.