Absolute Power (2014)

Absolute Power is a 2014 thriller film which is a remake of the 1997 film of the same name which was directed by Clint Eastwood, based on the book by David Baldacci. The remake was directed by Marc Forster and stars Bryan Cranston, Keri Russell and Ben Affleck.

Plot
Luther Whitney (Bryan Cranston) is an aging but master cat burgular. He targets the house of elderly billionaire Walter Sullivan (Danny DeVito) for his next burgulary. Sullivan is a close friend of US President Alan Richmond (Jon Voight) and his financial supporter.

Luther ends up trapped behind a one-way mirror when someone bursts in and he is forced to hide. He soon recognizes them as President Richmond and Sullivan's daughter Christy (Cristin Milioti) who are in the midst of a drunken fling. The thryst gets rough and quickly turns violent, culminating in Richmond stangling Christy to death. As Luther watches in horror, two Secret Service Agents, Bill Burton (Richard Belzer) and Tim Collins (Keith David) and Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Peri Gilpin) arrive and make the scene appear as if it was a break-in gone wrong. After they leave, Luther leaves with some of the items he had already stolen, as well as a bloody letter opener, which Christy jabbed Richmond with during their struggle.

The following day, Detective Seth Frank (Ben Affleck) begins an investigation into the murder. Luther, well known as a thief, becomes a suspected, having been spotted in the area. Seth, however, doesn't believe that Luther is a killer.

Seth teams up with Luther's estranged daughter Kate (Keri Russell) who is a prosecutor, to investigate. The two decide to set Luther up, planning to have him capture him when he meets with Kate in an outdoor café. However, Burton uses a wire tap to learn of the plan and goes to the destination himself to snipe Luther. At the same time, an anonymous tip is left to Sullivan, who hires a hitman (Desmond Harrington) to kill Luther at the same time. Both snipers take aim, unaware of each other's presence. However, Luther dodges both of their shots, which escalates into a confused shootout between the two assassins, at the end of which Burton must kill the other hitman. Seth tries to chase Luther, but Luther disguises himself as a police officer and escapes.

After explaining what really happened to Kate, Luther decides to start toying with Russell. He first sends her a photo of the bloodied letter opener, then tricks her into wearing Christy's necklace in public. Upset by these incidents, Richmond assumes (albeit correctly) that Kate knows the truth, and orders her killed.

Seth contacts Luther to tell him the Secret Service has taken over surveillance of Kate, who then rushes to save her. Meanwhile, Kate drives out to her usual jogging path when suddenly Collins appears and uses his car to force her over a cliff. Luther narrowly misses Collins escaping, but he manages to rescue Kate before her car plummets straight down and is consumed by a fireball.

At the hospital, Collins sneaks in to finish Kate off, dressing as a doctor and using a poison syringe. Luther gets the jump on him however and pins him to the floor, placing his own syringe against his neck. Collins begs for mercy, but Luther coldly says "I'm all out" and then injects a lethal dose into Collins.

Luther discovers that Sullivan never publicly stated why Christy had stayed at home, which she claimed was because she was feeling unwell. He switches places with Sullivan's chauffeur. Luther explains to Sullivan what occurred on the night of his daughter's death, which Sullivan refuses to believe. Luther then points out that in a speech he made following the murder, Richmond incriminated himself by mentioning why Christy had stayed home. Sullivan notes that he never told Richmond this, meaning that he could have known only from Christy herself. Luther gives Sullivan the letter opener, telling him that he can use it to incriminate Richmond and have him impeached. However, Sullivan demands that Luther drop him off at the White House instead.

As Luther heads for the hospital to visit Kate, a regretful Burton commits suicide and is found dead by Seth. He finds a note from Burton which contains evidence against Russell, allowing Seth to arrest her. As Sullivan is highly trusted by White House Staff, he is able to gain access to the Oval Office without any security checks. Richmond unsuspectingly welcomes Sullivan in. As Luther arrives on the hospital, he catches a news report on some shocking news from the White House; Sullivan has just confirmed that Richmond has committed suicide by stabbing himself to death with a letter opener. Luther smiles and walks away.

As the film ends, Luther is sitting by Kate's bedside. Now reconciled, he decides to give up his criminal life and spend more time with his daughter. She wakes up to find him idly doodling on a sketch pad. Seth briefly stops by to inform them of Russell's arrest, and thanks them for their help. After he leaves, Luther tells Kate that she should invite Seth around for dinner some time.