White House Down (Cert 12, 131 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Joey King, Richard Jenkins, Michael Murphy, Lance Reddick, Rachelle Lefevre. ***

John Cale (Tatum) is an ex-soldier, who is assigned to protect Speaker Of The House, Eli Raphelson (Jenkins), when he would much rather be part of the Secret Service detail protecting President James Sawyer (Foxx).

An interview for promotion conducted by Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal) goes badly and John licks his wounds by joining his daughter Emily (King) on a guided tour of the White House just as a heavily-armed paramilitary group led by Emil Stenz (Clarke) prepares to take control of the building.

White House Down is a preposterous, high-octane action thriller, which unfolds during a terrorist attack on the US President’s iconic seat of power.

The similarities to Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler are inescapable, but White House Down boasts more creativity with its protracted action sequences, including a hysterically overblown car chase around the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, replete with the President leaning out of a moving vehicle armed with a rocket launcher.

Channing dodges bullets and certain death at every explosive turn while Foxx manages to retain his presidential cool in the face of extreme provocation. Screenwriter James Vanderbilt provides director Roland Emmerich with the full array of cliches and contrivances, including a cherubic child in peril and at least one traitor in the upper echelons of power.

R.I.P.D. (Cert 12, 96 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd) Starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Devin Ratray, Mike O’Malley **

Boston Detectives Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) and Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon) steal gold bullion from a high-profile drugs bust. Nick hides his share under an orange tree in his backyard as an investment for his wife Julia (Stephanie Szostak), then gets cold feet and tells Bobby he intends to return the booty. At a subsequent raid, Bobby murders Nick to guarantee his silence. As his soul ascends to final judgement, Nick takes a detour to the Boston division of the Rest In Peace Department, where director Mildred Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker) enlists him for a 100-year tour of duty capturing nefarious spirits that have failed to cross over. Nick is partnered with US Marshal Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), who adopts a no-nonsense shoot-first approach to his work. The veteran and protege initially clash but gradually form a tender bond as the stolen gold returns to haunt Nick. Adapted from a series of comics, R.I.P.D. is an otherworldly action adventure in a similar vein to Men In Black, which pairs a grizzled veteran and a gung-ho newcomer in a hunt for earthbound monsters. Unfortunately, Robert Schwentke’s film is almost as lifeless as the creatures Roy and Nick have to apprehend. Screen chemistry between the leads fails to convince, punchlines fall flat and the numerous pursuits of mouldering prey are lacklustre. Bridges chews limp dialogue like tobacco as a 19th century US Marshal whose moral compass is misaligned with the modern world. Reynolds seems ill at ease while Bacon glowers as the tepid pantomime villain.