Murder at 1600 (1997)

With improbability firmly anchored to impossibility, Honest Dedicated Cop meets Wacko National Security Flacks in "Murder at 1600". The viewer's time passes agreeably. No stress, no strain.

A young woman is found brutally slain in the White House. What else is new? There's no depth to this film, just some fast action and quick takes of D.C. scenery.

Wesley Snipes is a detective with steely resolve and an attitude. Diane Lane is a Secret Service agent, an Olympics gold medalist (not irrelevant to the plot). She's beautiful, very beautiful. They make a great team.

And Alan Alda - he's out of his usual acting persona here. See the film to find out how.

You have to totally suspend disbelief here and accept that not everyone in government is the best and the brightest. But Diane Lane is beautiful, very beautiful.

5/10 (a high rating for this kind of well-crafted but not exactly gripping drama). But Diane Lane is beautiful, very beautiful.

Fmovies: At a time when America's foreign policy has put them in a situation where American servicemen are being held in China and conflict is possible, things are complicated by the discovery of a young woman's body in a room in the White House (the 1600 of the title). DC Detective Regis is brought in to investigate the crime but finds himself hampered by the secret service covering up and classifying key evidence sources. Regis, with the help of Agent Nina Chance finds himself drawn up into a deeper conspiracy.

This is quite a workman-like thriller. It's not very good but it's not very bad either. The plot starts well but gets a little ponderous at times and perhaps requires more than a little suspension of disbelief at times (a point where Snipes breaks into the White House through underground tunnels and walks round dressed as a cleaner is perhaps a step too far!). However the overall concept is ok and it is easy to believe that the Secret Service would take any steps necessary to cover anything that could embarrass the Presidency. However it's also a big leap to take for granted that Snipes and co. could get quite as far as they do.

Snipes is OK in the lead, however he doesn't quite get above the role of "tough cop" that we see in tonnes of cop movies. Attempts to give him a deeper character by having him build historical models in his spare time didn't really cut it for me. Similarly Lane is pretty much a non-entity in the film - I just didn't have any strong memories for her or her character at the end, I don't know if this was her fault or the fault of the script. The instantly recognisable Benzali is good and manages to bring a little menace to the role but doesn't have a great deal to work with. The role of National Security Advisor is well played by Alan Alda - he does a good job, but I did have a problem at the start of the film because I don't think of him in this type of film (Manhattan Murder Mystery - Yes, any other genres - not really), however once I got past this I was fine. Ronny Cox (he of so many screen bad guys) is given a small thankless role as the President. He doesn't have much to do and again it just never feels like he's comfortable with the role - contrast with his characters in things like Robocop and Total Recall to see the difference in his performances.

Overall this is a standard thriller that isn't very memorable but will pass the time easily enough. Once watched I doubt that you'll rush to see it again.

The first hour of this movie was very entertaining, even if it did offer up the normal clichés of the day. It featured good suspense and a likable hero played by Wesley Snipes. I was really enjoying this, but - yes, but - the film goes right down the tubes in the last 40 minutes. The last 20 minutes will really have you cringing.

Not only does the story get convoluted, it loses all credibility. A murder at the White House and no FBI? That's just one of many loopholes. We wind up getting the same tired military-and U.S. government-are-the-bad guys bias that we've seen upteen times in the past 40 years. Hey, the film is entertaining but if you have a brain, you might have problems with this story.

By the way, any film that includes post-MASH Alan Alda or pre-9/11 Dennis Miller is usually pretty bad. We get both in this film.

The ending is so ludicrous, such an insult to anyone's intelligence, that is has to offend anyone, regardless of their political persuasion. This is one of the few films that ends so poorly that both Liberals and Conservatives would agree.

In fact, most people agreed that this film was great for the first half, horrible in the second and was filled with too many clichés that ruined a movie which good have been a good one. Another clue to what you have here is that this was directed by the same guy who did "Halloween 4" and "Free Willy 2."

Murder at 1600 fmovies. This movie undoubtedly has one of the best pairings of movies in late 90's,that of Snipes and Lane.Diane Lane is at her most beautiful and enchanting here and i liked her performance.Snipes is as always very cool and strong and shows depth.Its amazing how someone can show depth in action and criminal movies as he does.Blows my mind.

Film has a decent story and issue.It has already been worked up by Eastwood in "Absolute power".Its about people in key positions who use their power to achieve their own secret goals and do what they like.Alan Alda is very good as the stern villain who secretly works against the president played equally well by Ronny Cox.Benzali and Donovan make good supporting roles.

But what is the best thing with this is the chemistry between lead stars.Even if Wesley and Diane dont get involved romantically,their relationship makes it worth to watch even without the love scenes.They have quiet strength and strong charisma.And their bond is a great one.

This is a good 8/10.

This film is based on a novel by Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry Truman and First Lady Bess Truman. For some reason, she is not given credit here on IMDb for the work that this film is based on.

As to the movie itself, I would agree that in certain ways it would be somewhat implausible, yet I still find it quite entertaining, and easy to watch any time it pops up on TV, these days in High Def, looking far better then it has in years. I like Wesley Snipes - persistent, a pain in the behind, never willing to give up with so much at stake. And I find that Diane Lane is at her best here - not trying to be attractive, yet amazingly so, showing that she can and ought to be an action adventure type of actor as much as any other type of work that she gets into. And after all the lies and other nonsense that has come out of the Nixon, Reagan and Dubya administrations, maybe this doesn't seem all that impossible after all.

Great performances by Ronny Cox and Wesley Snipes. A standard political thriller, made more interesting by Snipes' character's interest in history. He has made huge models of the DC area in his apartment, and uses them to solve a murder case that threatens to bring down the president. The gorgeous Diane Lane gives a creditable performance as a secret service agent. I liked the fact that the two main characters never have sex. Their relationship suggests it, and I kept waiting for the usual (and boring) bedroom scene. Sex is often used as a gimmick to hold interest in a boring plot and uninteresting characters. You either like the plot and this movie for what it is, or you don't.