Lots of snow covers a fairly old style whodunnit mystery.
When it comes to a murder mystery, there are only so many new avenues film-makers can explore to make the whole affair original. The most predictable way to make it fresh is to make the setting fairly interesting, and Whiteout certainly goes for that.
Kate Beckinsale stars as Carrie Stetko (with an impeccable American accent I should add), a US Marshall with a 'troubled' past, assigned to Antarctica. Apparently she volunteered for this post, and the story joins her as a body is found near her base, and thereby the murder mystery begins.
It should be immediately pointed out that this is not exactly high-brow intellectual entertainment - it is a yarn and not to be taken very seriously. The snow-based setting including vicious blizzards give it a reasonably intriguing and scenic feel so much that the setting is in itself a bit of a character.
I do recall in my review of Vacancy, also starring Beckinsale, that her visual appeal was ridiculously underused, and she looked almost grubby. I couldn't understand why she'd be cast in that role - well the guys behind Whiteout seem to have taken that criticism quite seriously. While she is covered head to toe in winter clothes for 99% of the movie, there is one gratuitous semi/fully nude scene, which is completely unnecessary and is purely there because she's hot enough to carry it off. I'm not really objecting! Getting back on track, Whiteout is a decent enough thriller, pretty well made and well directed that it feels fairly short and fast moving while being pretty entertaining. It's not going to win any awards, but don't take it too seriously and you'll get a kick out of it.
Pretty good.
When it comes to a murder mystery, there are only so many new avenues film-makers can explore to make the whole affair original. The most predictable way to make it fresh is to make the setting fairly interesting, and Whiteout certainly goes for that.
Kate Beckinsale stars as Carrie Stetko (with an impeccable American accent I should add), a US Marshall with a 'troubled' past, assigned to Antarctica. Apparently she volunteered for this post, and the story joins her as a body is found near her base, and thereby the murder mystery begins.
It should be immediately pointed out that this is not exactly high-brow intellectual entertainment - it is a yarn and not to be taken very seriously. The snow-based setting including vicious blizzards give it a reasonably intriguing and scenic feel so much that the setting is in itself a bit of a character.
I do recall in my review of Vacancy, also starring Beckinsale, that her visual appeal was ridiculously underused, and she looked almost grubby. I couldn't understand why she'd be cast in that role - well the guys behind Whiteout seem to have taken that criticism quite seriously. While she is covered head to toe in winter clothes for 99% of the movie, there is one gratuitous semi/fully nude scene, which is completely unnecessary and is purely there because she's hot enough to carry it off. I'm not really objecting! Getting back on track, Whiteout is a decent enough thriller, pretty well made and well directed that it feels fairly short and fast moving while being pretty entertaining. It's not going to win any awards, but don't take it too seriously and you'll get a kick out of it.
Pretty good.