Terror en la Antártida

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.

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.

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.

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.

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