After stopping a former government worker from committing suicide on a public street, Washington, DC police detective "Regis" (Wesley Snipes) and his partner, "Detective Stengel" (Dennis Miller) are relaxing at a local bar when "Regis" gets a call on his cell phone to have him report to the White House, where a gorgeous woman (Mary Moore) was found stabbed to death in a public bathroom.
"Detctive Regis" is paired up by Secret Service agent, and Olympic Sharpshooting Gold Medalist "Nina Chance" (Dianne Lane).
Eventually, with the evidence they uncover, the two believe that the murder is a small part of a bigger picture surrounding American hostages in North Korea. They are also believe that a member of the First Family itself is the prime suspect until new evidence is uncovered that shows that the family member is just a pawn in the much bigger picture.
Now wanted by Federal authorities themself, "Regis" and "Chance" have to go after the real murderer and stop "President Jack Neil" (Ronny Cox) from resigning.
Let me start off by saying there is a major mistake in this movie. As you know, the White House is Federal property. Because of this fact, the investigation would automatically go to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Washington, DC Police Department would never be part of the investigation.
There are some pretty good performances in this movie. I personally thought the strongest performances were from Snipes, Lane (who I honestly thought was Ashley Judd because I didn't pay attention to the opening credits) and especially Alda. Other actors in the movie had to deal with weakly written characters.
In fact, the entire script was pretty weak. However, there are some really good twists in the story that keeps your attention. The only problem with the twists is that they don't allow the audience to keep guessing til the end. Instead, they start giving you the truth without it being revealed by "Regis" and "Agent Chance" to the audience. Actually, some of the truth is revealed by them. Then, we see those behind the conspiracy doing what they have to to stop the two.
You'd expect a lot of gun play in this movie, considering who is involved. However, there really isn't until the two leads are considered suspects. Only then do we have bullets flying. In fact, there is more hand-to-hand action than gun action.
One thing that isn't quite clear is why the conspirators are doing what they are doing. It is pretty obvious that they want to bring the hostages home, but trying to destroy a Presidency in the way they try is not all that clear.
There is a lot of implausible things in this movie. For example, the FBI being used to cover-up the truth is a little hard to believe. And using local police in an investigation on Federal property is a big mistake that somebody, possibly the author of the novel of which this movie is based upon, made. However, despite these flaws, it would still be a pretty good rental. Or, you can I suggest you check this out when you catch the movie on television.
it was a good movie wouldnt say playing a cop suites wesley snipes but he did a good job the story line wasnt that good but never the less was still a good movie
Not a bad political thriller. I enjoyed it. It had good action and a good story. I kind of guessed who dunnit from the beginning but they threw little things in there that would make you sway your judgments but I got it right in the end. Good movie.
This movie was Well-done with subtle humor, combined with great action and suspense make this a great movie to watch.
Lane is, whew.. and Snipes hits the mark pretty well.. great story, involving and fast-paced.. good stuff...
A murder at the White House causes a clash between secret service & a DC homicide cop. Subtle humor, combined with great action and suspense make this a great movie to watch. It helps that I'm madly in love with Diane Lane as well lol
This is the only movie I like Westly Snipes in. Diane Lane's role in this move is also done well.
I do like crime drama's and this is one I will always watch when I find it playing on TV.
This move, to me, is like a puzzle because in it does take a while to figure out who the killer is. And, I think the murdered girl, not so famous then, Jenna Elfman. I could be wrong.
There were two movies about murder and the U.S. presidency released in 1997, and when you compare it to Absolute Power, this one is clearly the lesser of the two. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie, but it does make it a mildly disappointing o...
Fun stuff. Good late 1990's thriller. I often confuse this with the Clint Eastwood movie about a master thief who is caught up in a White House scandal.
Very good film and im not sure if its a lesser film than absolute power as per write up. Judge for yourself, I like Snipes and this one of his best more serious roles.
Here's an example of some of the stupid writing in this movie: "You were born to be a corpse." Huh? Aren't we ALL? And that's just in the trailer -- after that, I couldn't bring myself to actually watch the movie.
its a cop movie. a woman is murdered at the white house. wesley snipes plays the detective. alan alda plays somebody he doesnt usually play! you kind of cant be realistic when you watch this movie. its fun but not raelly good.
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