Terror en la Antártida

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!

Based on a graphic novel, this tells of Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshal on assignment in Antarctica due to her own personal exile. Nearing the end of her tenure in the great white south, she gets sucked into a murder mystery when a body is found on the ice.

I have never read the graphic novel, and if it was as poorly done as this film, I never care to. Pitiful, repetitive dialogue (count the "Oh my God"s), generic music blaring over the scenes on an almost nonstop basis, stiff performances and a mystery that is far from mysterious. The resolution of said mystery leaves you thinking "That's it?" more than anything. The director repeatedly beats us over the head with things that would best be discovered later on, but since we know before the characters, it sucks out any possible suspense there might have been. You can also spot one of the villains based on an old TV show rule.

Whiteout fails to excite or intrigue. It's about as generic as they come. Skip it.

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

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.