The Speaker of the House (Morgan Freeman) takes command, but the only one who can save the President not to mention the world is a disgraced former Secret Service agent, Mike Banning, played by Gerard Butler, a second-tier star from Scotland, whose lack of humor will make you understand why Bruce Willis has lasted as long as he has.

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The White House action flick has proven to be a nice performer for star Gerard Butler, who was coming off a string of flops, as well as distributor FilmDistrict.

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But, that's like saying Gerard Butler is a slightly hunkier dude than Hugh Jackman.

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The only big film opening this weekend (in 2, 700 theaters) is Playing For Keeps which stars Gerard Butler as a washed up soccer player who returns home to try and become a man.

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They must have been paying attention during the redemption lesson, since they've borrowed heavily from "In the Line of Fire, " with Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent trying to redeem himself after his failure to protect JFK. The hero here Mike Banning, a Secret Service agent played by Gerard Butler hasn't lost a president, though almost.

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Budget constraints probably account for Rome's surprisingly meager population and a Volsci army that seems to number about two dozen, but you can't argue with the talent in the foreground: Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain and Gerard Butler don't misplace a single syllable between them.

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He's putting his money behind films like The Rebound, a romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Law Abiding Citizen, a thriller staring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.

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