DWIGHT H. LITTLE
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.
USA, 1997. Warner Bros., Regency Enterprises, Kopelson Entertainment. Screenplay by Wayne Beach, David Hodgin. Cinematography by Steven Bernstein. Produced by Arnold Kopelson, Arnon Milchan. Music by Christopher Young. Production Design by Nelson Coates. Costume Design by Denise Cronenberg. Film Editing by Leslie Jones, Billy Weber.
A Washington, D.C. homicide detective (Wesley Snipes) is in over his head when his latest murder victim is found dead in a White House bathroom stall. A regular investigation is begun, but thanks to the President and his top staff being involved as suspects, red tape starts to spring up around Snipes faster than he can ask for a guided tour. Diane Lane is excellent as the Secret Service liaison who ends up going against her duty to help Snipes solve this mystery, but the film for the most part is an unimpressive potboiler that throws red herrings at you for two hours before ending with an unbelievably melodramatic confrontation. The ridiculousness of it isn’t helped by the fact that Snipes isn’t charismatic enough to play a Bruce Willis-type character; physically, he’s perfectly up to the work involved, but character detail and dialogue delivery aren’t his specialty. Either way, the film would have been a complete dud with anyone in the lead.
