Plot: A secretary is found dead in a White House bathroom during an international crisis, and Detective Harlan Regis is in charge of the investigation. Despite resistance from the Secret Service, Regis partners with agent Nina Chance. As political tensions rise, they learn that the crime could be part of an elaborate cover-up. Framed as traitors, the pair and Regis’ partner break into the White House to expose the true culprit.
I hadn’t watched this movie since it came out way back in 1997; it’s been so long that I actually forgot who the killer was, so it’s like watching it for the first time.
This is one of Wesley Snipes’ better films and is more of a procedural, but still has enough action to things things ticking along. We get a few fight scenes, shoot-outs and explosions, but I really enjoy the story too.
Murder at 1600 has a great supporting cast including Daniel Benzali (from the underrated Murder 1), Alan Alda and Diane Lane as the Secret Service Agent who works with Snipes to solve the murder. Ronny Cox plays the President once again after playing him in Albert Pyun’s Captain America; I’m so used to seeing him as villains in movies like RoboCop and Total Recall that it’s weird to see him play a good guy.
The performances all round are solid and the script has a few funny lines but it’s mostly serious and keeps the tone tense.
Christopher Young provides an exciting music score which really elevates the action; it’s not as good as his work on Hellraiser 2 or Priest but it’s still an awesome score.
At an hour and 40 minutes this is well paced and there isn’t a scene I would remove from Murder at 1600 as it’s all necessary to keep us wondering who the killer is and their motives.
Overall, Murder at 1600 has an entertaining story, a great cast and some decent action making it one of my personal favourite Wesley Snipes films. Can we have him back in more action movies again, please?