MURDER AT 1600
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
Another conspiracy movie? Maybe. Plausible story? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely. For all the complaining people do about government (and a lot of it is justified), it's refreshing to see a movie that keeps those who think they are above the law within its boundaries. Maybe this only happens in the movies but it is a nice thought.
A murder has occurred at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (The White House, Washington, D.C.) and a homicide detective (Wesley Snipes) is assigned to investigate the crime and runs into stiff opposition from the head of White House Secret Service (Daniel Benzali) and is aided in his search for the truth by a conscience-stricken female Secret Service agent (Diane Lane). The President's national security advisor (Alan Alda) is also part of the intrigue as he resists any attempt to link the first family with the crime. Snipes is forced to investigate certain venues in secret which puts his life in danger and the movie takes many different turns before arriving at its conclusion which unfortunately isn't disguised too well and many film buffs will have the story figured out before the climax arrives.
That is about the only flaw keeping 'Murder at 1600' on the money at all times and is a taut and suspenseful thriller detailing not only the murder investigation but it also contains a sub plot which involves the White House dealing with a crisis of military hostages held overseas in Asia. It's also too bad that in every film dealing with suspicions at the highest levels of government, that those central figures remain as caricatures to the plotline and we never really get to know them as part of the film's central focus. It's true in this case with the President being portrayed by Ronnie Cox ('Deliverance', 'Beverly Hills Cop', 'Robocop', 'Total Recall') and was also the case in 1994's 'Clear and Present Danger' in which that film's President (Donald Moffat) was secondary to the story and 'Independence Day' which portrayed its President (Bill Pullman) rather poorly. Even the recent 'Absolute Power' failed to show its President (Gene Hackman) as anything more than a second rate characterization.
Wesley Snipes gives his best performance since 'White Men Can't Jump' (1992) in this picture which makes his character not only intelligent but determined to get at the truth. Its a deep portrayal from Snipes who has been so good and so focused on the characters he's played. 'Murder at 1600' is a step in the right direction for his career. It's also a film in which the entire cast figures prominently and delivers the goods.
OUT OF 5> * * * 1/2
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