Whiteout

While digesting my Thanksgiving meal, I wanted to watch a good movie in front of the fire on a cold winter night. Whiteout seemed appealing because of the synopsis and the setting. I love the desolate setting of an science facility in the cold lifeless continent of Antartica. There is always something creepy and thrilling about being so far from civilization and life sustaining climate; the movie had a similar creepiness to some other thrillers that take place in deep space. The plot and setting were original, and keep you guessing throughout the movie. The suspense and thrills were more likened to a horror movie or a slasher film, but I say that in a good way. My 17 year old daughter and wife had to turn their eyes away for many scenes in fear and anticipation.

I like to judge movies by what their intent is. I try and compare Old School to Gone with the Wind for example... 2 completely different audiences and intents, but both great movies that deliver what they try to deliver. In my opinion, Whiteout delivered what it tried to deliver, a scary, interesting, beautiful, thrilling escape. Exactly what I wanted to see on a cold Friday night in front of the fire!

Whiteout isn't as bad as people are claiming it is, in fact I had an OK time with it, when all was said and done. There is a dull section in the middle that's hard to get through, but the fairly exciting finale makes up for that in my opinion. I give big props to the film cast for having to go through such a rigorous weather treatment, but it made for a fairly effective movie. The negative thing about Whiteout though is, I didn't think it took advantage of its immense potential. It's definitely watchable and fairly entertaining, but it could have been a film to remember with that type of setting and the plot, and unfortunately I guessed the twist at the end halfway through the movie. Kate Beckinsale makes for a very good lead, while being believable at the same time, and that's very important for a film like this. Whiteout has it's fair share of spooky moments, the atmosphere is great, and in the end I was entertained for the most part, but it could have been so much more.

Performances. Kate Beckinsale is gorgeous to look at, but also a pretty good actress too. She's likable and her Feistyness, but also vulnerability worked well for her. Gabriel Macht does well as Pryce, he was pretty charismatic. Tom Skerritt is OK as the Doctor, I suppose he had a presence. Columbus Short is likable as Delfy. Alex O'Loughlin is quite intense in his role.

Bottom line. It's worth a watch on Telly or DVD that's for sure, it passes the time well.

6/10

Here's a sure bet: Out of 12 million NetFlix customers, only a handful have ever been to Antarctica! A hostile environment provides a great backdrop for an Action/Crime/Drama/ Thriller (IMDb genres) such as WHITEOUT. And Antarctica is just about as hostile as it gets!

FIRST... Let us FOCUS on the Title´s Content and Context:

...WHITEOUT does get off to a really GREAT start. While in the theater, my enjoyment was genuine during 80 to 90% of the movie...Just after viewing, 3 7.7*... rounded up to 8* was my rating...But after a few hours of cerebral ricocheting, I realized that perhaps I'd allowed my emotions a little too much free reign, permitting myself to be a partial victim of WHITEOUT's cinematic snow job!... YES..."I was SNOW-BLINDED by the Light!" Therefore, my revised rating is 6*!

I'll explain: WHITEOUT does have a few top-notch scenes, where director Dominic Sena (Swordfish/GONE in 60 Seconds) really manages to work the "Hostile Environment" angle I mentioned at the beginning to its fullest! However, this very unique initial strength proves eventually, in the long run, to be a tremendous constraint on the overall film.

During the first half of WHITEOUT there are several scenes where the safe haven home-base compound is left behind and helicopter trips are taken as part of an ongoing murder investigation. But the all-white outdoors soon gets a little drab and painfully bright on the eyes!

During most of the last half of the film, weather conditions force everyone to pretty much stay inside the compound, which also provides rather austere viewer surroundings.

This movie suffered from insufficient character development and over-reliance on several action-thriller-slasher scenes, which, although exciting and well-executed, were not enough to sustain WHITEOUT at a solid 8******** for its duration!

ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

....Any Comments, Questions or Observations, in ENGLISH o en ESPAÑOL, are most WELCOME!

The first few minutes of watching Kate Beckinsale stripping was....well, expected and pleasant. But it is becoming routine for her in her movies.

That entire sequence was made to keep us guys interested for the rest of this rather predictable movie. It served no other purpose at all. (Yeah, she's still got an incredible body) This movie has a very simple and uncomplicated plot. Even the "twist" is totally predictable. I knew who the villain was in the first 15-20 minutes of the film.

The movie is paced quite evenly without much up and down except for a rather unusual "action" sequence somewhere in the middle of the film, involving ice-pick, a blizzard (white-out), and a lot of guiding ropes. The action could have been better if not for some blurry fast action moments. I had no idea what happened for a few seconds. they kicked, he fell, she fell....

No surprise at all. Wait for the DVD. This is a good movie to watch on a small screen.

Whiteout was better that I expected after reading the summary and a few reviews. I am surprised that given the storyline, that the movie was as interesting as it was. I would recommend it to a friend, with context. Don't expect it to be the best movie that you have ever seen, but it is suspenseful and fun to watch. Stick with it, it took 20 minutes to pick up real steam.