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CAPITOL PUNISHMENT

It's a dark and stormy night at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Under the eternally captured eyes of Washington and Jefferson, a lovely young blonde is having sex in one of the rooms in the White House. Soon a maid discovers her body in a stall in the restroom. She has been stabbed to death. Uh-oh, is this going to be a problem or what?
MURDER AT 1600 has a lot of incredible plot contrivances that don't work unless you go ahead, suspend your belief, and enjoy the ride. Dwight Little's competent direction allows us to do that. Remember, it's just a movie, and even though its plot seems a bit far-fetched at times, it works as an engrossing thriller. Wesley Snipes is convincing as a no-nonsense DC homicide detective who forces himself onto the investigation, which should have been federally handled since it took place on Federal property. But then we wouldn't have had a movie. Diane Lane in a rare "action" role is marvelous as Dena Chance, the secret service liaison who realizes a cover up is going on. Daniel Benzali (from the critically acclaimed but short-lived tv series MURDER ONE) chews up the scenery as the head of security and the always delightful Alan Alda gives fine support as the head of NSA. It was nice to see the still lovely Diane Baker as the First Lady (I remember her so fondly from those 60s tearjerkers and of course as the murderess in STRAIT JACKET); Ronny Cox is an appropriately wimpy president; and Tate Donovan does well in the underdeveloped role of the president's sexually promiscous son.
This is one of those aw heck, what the heck kind of movies. It's fun to watch and I enjoyed it.

An intriguing premise.

When it comes to thrillers I usually find that smaller is better. I almost always enjoy the small independent films with the second- and third-levels stars rather than the big Hollywood productions made with the A-team that cater to a broader public taste. But when your thriller is set at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the District of Columbia, it's awfully hard for a low-budget production to pull it off credibly. Besides, I'm interested in the presidency and like films that purport to give you a behind-the-scenes look, even if it is fictional, so I gave 'Murder at 1600' a chance.Of course, if the movie is going to be longer than 15 minutes, you have to allow it some license. A lot of its success is based on how much you're willing to let go without saying, "Wait a minute!" A lot, too, depends on the cast and Wesley Snipes is a likable enough actor. Diane Lane is a big plus here as the Secret Service agent who works with him. They have a typical rocky relationship, but it's enjoyable. Daniel Benzali is ominous as the head of Secret Service. Snipes asks him what it would take for him to see some White House records and Benzali dryly answers, "Oh, not much. Just an act of Congress." Other veterans in the cast include Alan Alda, Ronny Cox and Harris Yulin. Bigger wasn't necessarily better this time but it was good enough.

Fairly watchable but totally routine whodunit.

My Take: Has the potential of being at least mindlessly exciting, but rarely reaches it. After just releasing the Clint Eastwood vehicle ABSOLUTE POWER, MURDER AT 1600 is released with practically the same plot. A murder happens to take place in the white house, it happens to be a women, there's the cop who believes the case breaks when the case breaks and suspects happen to be the President and his Chief-of-Staffs. MURDER AT 1600 isn't new film, as it is built upon ideas and storyline from other films. The plot is an interesting virtuoso, with some interesting plot twists and revelations, but it doesn't really grab you. It's interesting but not totally engaging.Wesley Snipes however is in fine form as a cop Harlan Regis, a cop who's assigned to investigate a murder that happens to take place at the White House. The Secret Service fails to capture the murderer, but decides that they close the case immediately, dismissing that the murderer is the victim's old boyfriend, but Regis thinks otherwise. Regis, with a little help from Secret Service agent and award-winning sharpshooter Nina Young (Diane Lane, also pretty good), tries to get on top of the case, with suspects that include the president's son (Tate Donovan), the White House staff and President Neil (Ronny Cox) himself.The climax and the conclusion has a few surprises, and there are a number of very good performances, but this is still fairly pedestrian territory. It's not especially exciting, with lack of some action, and the plot gets pretty confusing as it goes. Director Dwight Little isn't quite the professional when it comes to the action scenes. The plot is familiar, but the writers do their best to confuse us to make the plot seem like new material. Where's the fun in that? MURDER AT 1600 is not a bad thriller, and the film promises some few good scenes and a fine lead by Snipes, but with more potential than they got, it could have been better.Rating: **1/2 out of 5.

Adequate thriller

MURDER AT 1600 came near the end of Wesley Snipes' theatrical career, before he went STV, and it is a decent-enough, Canadian-lensed thriller about the discovery of a young woman's brutally murdered body in the White House. Could the president's bully of a son (Tate Donovan) have killed her? Or are there more sinister forces at work here? For better or worse, the identity of the killer is made plain just past the halfway mark. But that doesn't mean you can't go along for the ride as shadowy assassins try to keep Snipes, as a D.C. detective, and Diane Lane, as a sympathetic Secret Service agent, from uncovering the truth. Snipes is in tip top shape here and is surrounded by several great character actors: Ronny Cox as the president, Harris Yulin as a hawkish general and Alan Alda as a presidential adviser. Daniel Benzali, who some of you might remember from a short-lived TV crime show some years ago, is on hand as a senior Secret Service agent and Dennis Miller has a small role as a fellow D.C. detective. While MURDER AT 1600 is not a first-rate action film -- for one thing, it is chock full of tired plot devices -- it is certainly watchable. And it beats anything Snipes has done since going STV.

it was ok

it wasn't all the suspense type thriller that i thought, but it was prteey good!

Boring Wesley Snipes rip-off; even "Absolute Power" was better...

Rip-off of Clint Eastwood's "Absolute Power" has investigator Wesley Snipes getting caught up in a murder mystery involving the President of the United States of America. Predictable stuff. Watch "Conspiracy Theory" instead.2/5 stars.

Good mystery, with some suspenseful moments.

My husband and I watched this movie at home. I was pleased with Wesley Snipes acting ability, and really like a good mystery. I do not, however, like really suspense filled moments. It is scary to think that people affiliated with our government officials has/have such power, as the Alan Alda role showed. Especially with all the back up provided by the National Security System, shown in this film.. END

Thrilling caper

This movie covers all angles of what would happen in a celebrity murder case.

Not Bad for a Friday Night at Home

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.

Bog standard, workman-like thriller

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.

Decent film (Spoilers)

This film had some decent action, some decent suspense. I liked the fact that most of the loose ends were tied up (even though it was never stated that Snipes' building is saved, it seems a safe bet). I really love Alan Alda in almost everything I've seen him in, but I have to admit that I crack a smile every time I hear him make his "you've never served, so you'll never know what it's like" speech. I have to admit as well, that I liked seeing him get his comeuppance at the end--but I would have liked to see a bit more consequence for the president and his son. Once again, sexual misconduct is shrugged off as a "boys will be boys" thing.If that's the only thing that I can really find to complain about, then it was a decent film. Yes, some suspension of disbelief is needed, but not as much, for example, as in "National Treasure." I would recommend it to anyone who does not believe that it truly represents the inner workings of Washington, D.C.

Average Movie; Stunning Cast (visually)

This movie has an average story and was written for a pretty low brow audience. I only watched it because the person who was the victim of "murder at 1600" was played by a friend of a girl I used to go with at university (Mary Moore). Her stunning good looks make the movie worth the rental, however the story may leave your thumb tired from fast forwarding to Mary's scenes.

Same, same no different!

This movie is quite good, it has its moments. However this has been made before. The plot goes something like this: President and a murder and one suspect! The good part is that its fairly easy to watch, you dont have to concentrate 100% to follow the plot (U have seen it before, right!) Suitable for a rainy Sunday afternoon!

Replay value: Medium

Good Points

There are good points in this movie, but to discuss them would be to introduce spoilers. The most difficult thing with this movie is getting to the stellar cast and the somewhat flimsy story line past the colourless Wesley Snipes in the leading role - one has to either suspend normal expectations of how leading actors should carry a story line, or get a lobotomy first, or both. Word has it Bruce Willis was targeted for the Snipes role and turned it down, although word does not reveal why. Willis and Lane might have been good; Willis would certainly have had more than enough personality and acting skills to carry the story, good or bad; with Snipes there instead you might as well watch a rerun of Walker Texas Ranger.

you must be kidding.

What a silly piece of garbage. Ridiculous story, poor character and plot development, and substandard performances. Add that to some of the most stupid dialogue ever written, and you have a film of such poor quality, everyone involved in making it should be embarrassed. Someone got paid to write this? Amazing.

Great Political Thriller

Snipes and Lane make a great team in the high pressured thriller that has more then just "who done it?" riding on the line. In what I think is his best role, Wesley Snipes plays a tough, hard nosed cop who is sent to investigate a murder in the White House. With no one on his side and the government covering all the bases, Snipes turns to Diane Lane, at best his only hope for solving this crime. Together, they uncover clues and cover-ups in crime that goes deeper then just a simple murder. A gripping movie you will not soon grow tired of, "Murder at 1600" is must own for any fans of thriller/action movies.

What became of the American P.O.W.'s?

Though the "murder" was solved. The fate of the American soldiers, who were being held and tortured in Korea, was not really resolved, as far as I saw. I know that they were not the center of the story but still their presence was greatly felt. They should have resolved their fate along with the murder.

Thunder and Lightning

made my dog start hyperventilating and gave her enough adrenalin to lope up the steep staircase to the bedroom, where we were watching this Wesley Snipes/Diane Lane mystery. Stroking and petting the canine helped me accept some of the implausibility of the story, and I watched it to the end.When it seemed that the First Son was the killer, I tossed out the opinion that maybe it was the First Lady, reasoning that some clever screenwriter stole the idea from Presumed Innocent. Pam guessed Alan Alda, but I thought that there were too many cold eye characters to settle on one. It was when Ronny Cox, Alda and a bunch of military types tried to decide whether to drop a few bombs on North Korea and start a war that my focus became clear. The writers were not channeling Absolute Power, but rather Seven Days in May. Kirk, Burt and Freddie March did it better, but they didn't have this DC Detective backstory to gum up the works. You know something is wrong with the writing when the running joke about eviction goes nowhere.Despite these problems, Snipes held my interest, the dog settled down, the rain let up and it finished in time to let me see the last three minutes of the Pistons-Heat game.

An entertaining thriller (A few spoilers contained)

Murder At 1600 is that rarity these days, a thriller that places suspense over violence. While there is some action, this film relies more on good old nail biting suspense and mystery.The plot: Wesley Snipes is a DC homicide cop called in when a Whiet House staffer is found murdered in a washroom. He sets out to investigate and immediately runs into opposition from all side. The Secret Service chief doesn't want a city cop on his turf and assigns an agent played by Diane Lane to keep an eye on Snipes. After a while though she realizes Snipes is on to something and the two of them enter an uneasy partnership. They soon discover that a sinister conspiracy has been designed to bring the president down.Good acting, lots of suspense and action. See it!

popcorn movie

The only reason I saw this movie was because Alan Alda was in it.The cast was good but give me a break Alan got a bad part he should have been a main chractor.