Review of Murder at 1600 (1997) by Timothy S — 22 Jan 2013

1997 saw the release of two movies concerning illegal shenanigans at one of the most famous addresses in the world. The second of the two, "Murder at 1600", is the weaker of the pair, an entertaining but convoluted and highly improbably thriller that has almost as many red herrings as it does murder suspects.

Granted you are left guessing thanks to all of the misdirection, and the first half of the film does a nice job of pulling the viewer in, The murder mystery at the heart of the film is an interesting one, made even more so by the fact that D.C. homicide detective Wesley Snipes is met with bureaucracy and red tape every step of the way. He has a believable working relationship with Diane Lane, and it is refreshingly kept at a professional level even if it is sometimes hard to believe her as a Secret Service Agent and an Olympian sharpshooter.

The film is briskly paced by director Dwight Little, and the screenplay seems credible in the beginning. The scenes set in the White House and the political protocol feel authentic. In the second half, however, as the suspects and motivations start to pile up, that credibility is forgotten about and the film begins to cruise on auto pilot. The finale is typical action film cliches, one after another, until the entire project collapses under the weight.

I completely gave up on it when Snipes and Lane gain access to the White House courtesy of a mass of tunnels underneath and the Secret Service start behaving more like the Keystone Kops. It's really s shame because "Murder at 1600" started out in fine fashion with some smart writing and decent performances. It doesn't follow through.