From the director who gave us the Oscar-awarded, gritty Denzel Washington film “Training Day”, Antoine Fuqua delivers a frightening possibility of a terrorist attack that brings down the White House in  less time than it would take the U.S. military to arrive  on scene.  I saw that as one of the holes in the plot- that it would take 15 minutes for ground troops to arrive on scene, but Fuqua says his research shows that’s the real deal. Fuqua shot it in real time, with the terrorists first taking out the White House Secret Service, using our own weapons!!  It was bloody , and absolutely gets you wondering if this is a real possibility.  Fuqua did an outstanding  job.

The A-list cast also delivers: Aaron Eckhart as the President; Ashley Judd as the First Lady; Angela Bassett as the head of the Secret Service; and Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the  House (serving as President as efficiently as he did in “Deep Impact”. Who better to  reassure when  our world is falling apart???! ). Oscar winner  Melissa Leo (who dropped the f-bomb in her  Academy Awards acceptance speech) is tough as nails as she gives up her action movie virginity as the Defense Secretary.

Doing his own stunts, Gerard Butler is the fiercest he’s been since “300”  playing the Bruce Willis  Secret Service hero who saves the day.  In fact, this is the movie “A Good Day To Die Hard” should have been!!!

And what perfect timing:  just when  things are heating up in reality between the U.S. and North Korea,  Fuqua has North Korean  terrorists bringing down the White House. “Red Dawn” , this ain’t!!

Scary and entertaining  simultaneously,  this taut movie completely satisfies as a thriller.

3 stars