Whiteout – Review

I went into Dominic Sena’s Whiteout not knowing what to expect. From the film’s marketing I thought that the film was going to be a monster movie.   I didn’t know anything about the graphic novel it was based on so I was flying blind into the theatre. it didn’t take long for the flick to grab my attention and pull me into the story, and I quickly realized that the flick was my kind of movie.

Kate Beckinsale plays Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshall running from her past in the stark landscape of Antarctica. She’s finally finished dealing with the ghosts that have been haunting her dreams, so after years of rest and relaxation in the world’s most boring post she has tendered her resignation and is jumping on the next flight off of planet Hoth. Only, right before she’s supposed to leave a pilot spots a body out in the snow, and it quickly becomes apparent that Stetko isn’t going anywhere until she figures out who-dun-it.

On the upside, I was pleasantly surprised by the flick’s lack of teeny characters that look like they were fresh of the OC bus. It isn’t often that I get to check out a flick that isn’t full of actors that look like they belong on the CW and act like they belong on the CW, so this flick definitely started off on the right foot as far as cast is concerned. Tom Skerritt was awesome as Dr. John Fury, Columbus Short and Alex O’Loughlin were solid as well. The music was also a pleasant surprise. There wasn’t a single rap or nu-metal song played during the action sequences! Actually, the whole movie was host to an awesome score by John Frizzell. Combine all of this with an intriguing game of cat and mouse and a solid reason for anyone to commit murder and you’ve got a pretty good thriller on your hands.

On the downside, it wasn’t hard to figure out who was behind the murder, but it was difficult to figure out why said person would commit the murder in the first place. I would have also enjoyed seeing Columbus Short’s character, Delfy a little more, maybe in place of some of the flashbacks.

The mainstream critics have trashed this flick and I’m not sure why. It’s not perfect but it was a much needed break from the same-old-shit that movie goers are forced to see weekend after weekend. Whiteout is positively a killer film.

Rating:

I want to thank director Dominic Sena for the wonderful shot of Kate bending over in her whitey tighties. It was AWESOME!