Whiteout - Kate Beckinsale investigates muders in Antartica
Written: Sep 12 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Cool settings, interesting plot
Cons: Not very intense
The Bottom Line: I liked Whiteout, but it was not particularly memorable.
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| phungus's Full Review: Whiteout |
Whiteout is an interesting suspense thriller about a U.S. Marshall (Kate Beckinsale) investigating some murders at a remote scientific research facility in Antartica. It is based on a graphic novel, and directed by Dominic Sena, who previously did Swordfish and Gone in Sixty Seconds.
The movie begins showing a Russian cargo plane flying over the Antarctic in 1957. The pilots are involved in some plot to murder the Russian soldiers on board, but things go wrong and the plane ends up crashing in the snow. Now, some fifty years later, a murder investigation uncovers the location of the plane, and it seems that someone is willing to kill to protect the contents of a mysterious box found on board the aircraft.
A lot of misdirection is used to hide the identity of the killer until the very end. This is one of those movies where you will try to guess who the killer is, and so much information is withheld or overlooked that it becomes hard to even make an educated guess. It could have been more clever, because some plot holes kind of make the whole thing not come together well. Mainly, I had some issues with the way a couple of characters behaved given the situation.
The frozen environment of the Antarctic is used constantly to increase tension, and there are numerous foot chases that take place in the dangerous outdoors. In order to get around in all the wind and snow, ropes are used as guidelines between buildings. The problem is that there are a couple of long chases that involve people running up and down rope lines, and it's not as exciting as intended. I would not call this a boring movie, but I didn't think it ever built up as much as it could have. There weren't any big scenes, and that's disappointing.
I just watched the trailer for this movie and think that it is very misleading. It sort of implies that there might be a crashed spaceship under the snow, which would make someone think this movie could be something like The Thing. Also, the first minute of the trailer shows clips from the last ten minutes of the movie. It doesn't reveal anything, but I hate seeing the climax of any movie shown in the trailer. For the record, there are no aliens or monsters or anything supernatural going on in this movie. It's just a murder mystery.
Kate Beckinsale is good in this movie, but she's always a reliable actress. I think she's a little miscast for the role, but it still works. I read on the IMDb that Reese Witherspoon was originally attached to this movie. Tom Skerritt is also good in a supporting role as the main physician at the facility, and a veteran actor such as himself brings something extra to a character who doesn't have much screen time. Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) also has a supporting role as a UN worker sent in to help with the investigation.
In the end, I thought Whiteout was a decent thriller. It's not particularly memorable or really worth a second viewing, but it was entertaining. Since it isn't doing so well at the box office ($1.9 million on opening day), I'd expect the rental to be available very soon. With all the movies out right now, you'd probably be better off waiting for it to come out on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Recommended:
Yes
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