1997 gave us "Absolute Power" and "Murder at 1600." Both were mystery crime movies based in Washington, D.C. and centered around the President. "Absolute Power" gave us an old expert thief who'd witnessed a sex murder as our protagonist. He had to disclose the real criminal while dealing with a vicious Chief of Staff and loyal pit bull secret service agents.
Here, in "Murder at 1600," our protagonist is Detective Harlan Regis (Wesley Snipes) who's been dispatched to the White House for a murder of a woman who'd just had sex with the President's son. He has to find out who the murderer is while dealing with a surly security chief and loyal pit bull secret service agents. No crime committed at the White House is an ordinary crime and it goes doubly so for murder.
Regis is assigned a secret service liaison named Nina Chance (Diane Lane). Although her job is to ostensibly aid Regis, covering up the White House mess is more of a priority. Eventually, she has a moment of clarity and decides to truly help Regis.
This is one of the more intelligent cop movies Snipes has starred in. I'd put it on par with "Rising Sun" while I'd dismiss "Passenger 57," "Boiling Point," "Drop Zone," and "Money Train." Some of the misdirection in the movie was very see-through though it wasn't obvious who the killer was. There was some action and a lot of shots fired, but this wasn't your wanton action flick that heavily relied upon shooting, chases, and explosions. "Murder at 1600" was an adequate who-dun-it that I wouldn't mind watching on a lazy Saturday night.
Here, in "Murder at 1600," our protagonist is Detective Harlan Regis (Wesley Snipes) who's been dispatched to the White House for a murder of a woman who'd just had sex with the President's son. He has to find out who the murderer is while dealing with a surly security chief and loyal pit bull secret service agents. No crime committed at the White House is an ordinary crime and it goes doubly so for murder.
Regis is assigned a secret service liaison named Nina Chance (Diane Lane). Although her job is to ostensibly aid Regis, covering up the White House mess is more of a priority. Eventually, she has a moment of clarity and decides to truly help Regis.
This is one of the more intelligent cop movies Snipes has starred in. I'd put it on par with "Rising Sun" while I'd dismiss "Passenger 57," "Boiling Point," "Drop Zone," and "Money Train." Some of the misdirection in the movie was very see-through though it wasn't obvious who the killer was. There was some action and a lot of shots fired, but this wasn't your wanton action flick that heavily relied upon shooting, chases, and explosions. "Murder at 1600" was an adequate who-dun-it that I wouldn't mind watching on a lazy Saturday night.