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As political conspiracy films of 1997 go, "Murder at 1600" is no "Absolute Power," but definitely better than "Shadow Conspiracy."
Wesley Snipes is DC detective Harlan Regis, who plays by his own rules...yeah, I know. He and his cracking-wise partner Stengel (Dennis Miller) are called to investigate a dead woman's body found in a bathroom at the White House. The list of suspects is long. Regis is stonewalled right away by evil White House security guy Spikings (Daniel Benzali, who is filmed as if possessed by Satan). The wimpy President Jack Neil's (Ronny Cox) hot-to-trot son Kyle (Tate Donovan) is finally the red herring Regis settles on, until brought new information from Secret Service Agent Nina Chance (Diane Lane). National Security Adviser Jordan (Alan Alda) tries to advise the president through an "international crisis," a US military plane's crew is being held hostage in North Korea, and lead Regis and Chance through the bureaucracy surrounding the murder investigation.
This was filmed back when Snipes was a big-screen action hero, and his performance here is very good. The entire cast, in fact, is good, and Snipes keeps up with them in a performance that could have turned this into a franchise of Harlan Regis conspiracy adventures. Dwight Little's direction is better than the script, his action sequences are nicely edited and effectively shot, including a shoot-out and fistfight in a suburban home that is nothing short of excellent. The biggest problem with the film is the script. First of all, some of the characters' names sound like they were improvised during an afternoon screenwriting seminar- Harlan Regis? Nina Chance? Nick Spikings? An assassin named John Kerry? Regis is given some nice characterization- he's a history buff, and his building is being razed to make room for a parking garage, all stuff that Snipes plays well. However, a good back story cannot make up for leaps in logic and screenwriting conveniences that move the plot along. One such scene has White House security seizing the personal effects of the murdered victim, yet "hiding" them in an evidence room where anyone, like our secret service agent leading lady, can get ahold of it. Also, how fortunate is it that a secret tunnel taking our heroes into the White House is guarded by exactly two padlocks and a motion sensor? I rolled my eyes at the Hollywood trope of bloodthirsty military men pushing for war while the president wants to take his time and negotiate. The final motive for the murder is also unnecessarily complicated, and you may realize that the killing didn't have to occur at the White House. Then again, the title "Murder Kinda Near 1600, Like a Block Over" doesn't have the same ring to it.
Watch for an uncomfortable bit involving the forever underrated Charles Rocket as a suicidal government worker. Rocket did eventually take his own life in reality, and the scene made me squirm. "Murder at 1600" comes up short.
Stats:
(1997) 107 min. (4/10)
-Directed by Dwight H. Little
-Written by Wayne Beach & David Hodgin
-Cast: Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Daniel Benzali, Ronny Cox, Tate Donovan, Dennis Miller, Alan Alda, Diane Baker, Harris Yulin, Tom Wright, Charles Rocket, Nicholas Pryor, Nigel Bennett
(R)
Media Viewed: DVD
