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!

I actually felt this movie was fairly decent. Looking at a lot of the reviews, people seem to feel so outraged at how horrible this movie apparently was, but I don't know what they were expecting. If you're that angry about the supposed "twist" foreshadowed in the trailer, then you should have been smart enough to know that the chances of this movie coming through with some amazing and original twist were very slim.

Anyway, as for the film itself, there were definitely many flaws. That stupid shower scene in the first 10 minutes of the movie was so tactless I was almost ready to leave. The acting was mediocre at best. I think Gabriel Macht is an extremely good looking guy, but based on this film he is a horrendous actor. Kate Beckinsale was okay as the lead... She had her moments. The dialogue was so cheesy though. And the film was just also very predictable and tedious. The flashback scenes in particular got pretty annoying as pretty much the same exact scene was repeated at least 3 or 4 times throughout the movie.

But perhaps the best aspect of the film is the scenery. The outside shots were beautiful. The whole idea of being on Antarctica was fascinating and is perhaps the main reason why I was able to put up with many of its flaws. I wish they developed that aspect of the story more. I also felt some of the blood and gore were also well done. It was more tasteful than a slasher movie but still just as gut-wrenching.

Neither great nor horrible, it's entertaining, smart, and sometimes has some surprises that are worth seeing, but expect action thriller melodrama as opposed to science fiction intrigue.

The main problem is that it's often too formulaic and cliché, sometimes nearly nonsensical. It feels in many ways like any other FBI/CIA international mystery thriller involving lots of brutally murdered people, with the exception of the setting.

Nice FX and a sort of gore horror film element (that axe murderer story lovers will greatly appreciate) add something beyond the FBI melodrama to create some excitement, thrills, and disturbing moments.

Ever since The Matrix or thereabouts, mainstream action flicks have merged with fantasy. Of course The Matrix had justification, but we've seen the same superhuman, gravity- defying, too-cool-for-school characteristics attach themselves to even ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, and maybe it's gone a little too far. In WHITEOUT, our heroine is *not* a 10th degree black belt, *not* armed with 200 lbs of ammo, *not* able to do backflips over exploding grenades & such things as we've come to expect in movies. Instead, WHITEOUT gives us a somewhat sober & realistic portrayal of what "action" is like in the real world. It's almost like a throwback to the 70s when special effects played a minor role in films, and the human themes were forefront.

I'm not saying either type of film is inherently better than the other; all I'm saying is if you go into this film expecting "Ultraviolet" or "Resident Evil", you will most certainly be put to sleep within the first half hour. If, instead, you go into it expecting something more like the 70s classics "Coma" or "Stepford Wives" (where the heroine is human and fallible), I think you'll really enjoy this.

A lot of the film's power centers around the heroine's human side, and accordingly she reacts in human ways. When seriously injured, she doesn't brush it off with an "I ain't got time to bleed" macho attitude. She doesn't just take a swig of whiskey and calmly perform surgery on herself like we've come to expect from our action heroes. No, she cries like a baby which is what you or I would do if we just got sliced (admit it, tough guys)! She's not some soulless robot who can kill dozens of people without flinching. She, like a real human, carefully considers the repercussions each time she has to pull the trigger. Granted, this slows the pacing of the action considerably, but hey, welcome to the real world.

With all that in mind, the story is pretty basic as far as murder-mysteries-in-the-Antarctic go. But if you focus on the underlying human story instead of the thrills & chills, it's a refreshing change from the cartoony action flicks of recent years. For similar reality checks, I highly recommend "The Merry Gentleman" (crime drama), "Moon" (scifi), and "Exorcist 3" (horror).

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!