Murder at 1600 is playing with a lot of familiar tropes from action-thrillers of the late 90s, and I don't mind one bit. This was the kind of stuff I loved when I was just getting into action films, and I still find such joy from watching them now. Sure, there is a formula at play here, and there are often things that don't make a ton of sense. In fact, more than once my logical brain would think "that's not how that would really happen," but I was able to get over the nonsense and enjoy the ride. It's fun to think of the different ways that an investigation might be influenced by federal agencies if there was a chance it could incriminate certain people in power. I like that they bring in an unbiased homicide detective to oversee the case, and we get to see how he is manipulated by the system. It gives a nice David-vs-Goliath feel to the case and makes the tension greater. They also put plenty of bureaucratic roadblocks in the way that help intensify the drama.
I love Wesley Snipes in this role, because I often forget he is so charming. Some of the character stuff they give him doesn't work well, and seems tacked on for no good reason, but I still like him as the lead. It's also hard to criticize anything that Diane Lane does in the supporting role. She plays a character who is tough as nails, one who holds her own with all the men around her, and never once does she feel like a lame damsel in distress that our hero has to save. The mystery in Murder at 1600 is not bad at all, because we are tricked into suspecting a number of different people. However, it's not exactly one where we are given all the important evidence up front so we can deduce the truth before it is revealed. But just like the far-fetched nature of certain things that happen in Murder at 1600, I simply don't care about that. I have a fun time watching it, and that's really all that matters to me.
