Murder at 1600

Murder at 1600 casts Wesley Snipes as Harlan Regis, an almost comically cocky D.C. cop who’s recruited to look into the murder of a staffer at the White House – with Regis’ investigation eventually teaming him up with an eager young agent named Nina Chance (Diane Lane). Screenwriters Wayne Beach and David Hodgin seem to have culled the script for Murder at 1600 directly from a template for dumbed-down political thrillers, as the movie, which generally remains watchable (at the very least), unfolds in precisely the manner one might’ve anticipated and boasts the various touchstones associated with films of this ilk. It is, as such, not surprising to discover that the narrative possesses few successful elements, with Snipes’ often obnoxiously arrogant turn as the central character ensuring that Regis remains rather unsympathetic from start to finish. The mystery at the center of the proceedings doesn’t fare much better, unfortunately, as there’s little here that doesn’t come off as hopelessly familiar and utterly by the numbers. (It’s worth noting, however, that the identity of the conspiracy’s mastermind is somewhat surprising.) The typically action-packed (yet uninvolving) climactic stretch really doesn’t do the movie any favors, and it’s ultimately impossible to label Murder at 1600 as anything more than a forgettable ’90s thriller.

** out of ****