DVD 108 mins IMDB 5.9

In Collection
#88

Drama, Adventure, Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Action

Wesley Snipes	Detective Harlan Regis
Diane Lane	Nina Chance
Daniel Benzali	Nick Spikings
Dennis Miller	Detective Steve Stengel
Alan Alda	Alvin Jordan
Ronny Cox	President Jack Neil
Diane Baker	Kitty Neil
Tate Donovan	Kyle Neil
Rubén Blades	General Clark Tully
Tom Wright	Hal Cooper
Harris Yulin	General Clark Tully
Ronny Cox (I)

Director	Dwight H. Little
Producer	Arnold Kopelson; Arnon Milchan; Stephen Brown; David Eichler
Writer	Wayne Beach; David Hodgin

There were two movies about murder and the U.S. presidency released in 1997, and when you compare it to Absolute Power, this one is clearly the lesser of the two. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie, but it does make it a mildly disappointing one, and it illustrates the hazards of crafting a film to fit the persona of its leading man. In this case, you've got Wesley Snipes, a young, savvy man of action, playing a Washington, D.C., police detective assigned to investigate the murder of a woman in the White House. The president's son is a prime suspect, but there's a cover-up underway that forces Snipes to intensify his investigation beyond normal parameters. For a while at least, this makes Murder at 1600 a sharp and interesting film, and while the national security advisor (Alan Alda) seems highly cooperative (but don't be so sure), Snipes meets a secret service member (Diane Lane) who shares his belief in a high-level conspiracy. Unfortunately, that's when the film takes a downward plunge, resorting to a series of thriller clichés including an unlikely chase through secret tunnels beneath the White House. We're not suggesting this couldn't happen, but it's the kind of thing you typically see in movies that have run out of original ideas before they're over. Kinda makes you want to watch Absolute Power again, doesn't it? --Jeff Shannon