WHITEOUT review by Gary Dean Murray

This is usually a slower time for motion pictures. Theaters are still trying to get the smell of Coppertone out of the seats from summer revelers while trying to get ready for the Christmas onslaught of blockbusters and Oscar considerations. This time of year becomes a no mans land where films are sent to die, something more along the lines of product for the patrons who just want to get out of the house. It is also a dumping ground for films that have been shelved for years, with studios trying to generate some kind of box office in the off season. Such is the movie Whiteout, a little flick shot a few seasons back that is just now getting released in theaters.

The film starts in1957 with a group of Russians flying a military plane in the southernmost part of the world. A gun battle breaks out, killing all aboard and leaving the plane wrecked on the Antarctic basin. This action sequence, with tight close-up and guns blazing, is one of the highlights of the piece.

Then we jump to the present. Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is a US Marshall keeping the peace in the South Pole for years. Mostly what she does is settle minor crimes between all the different scientific groups doing research in the vast frozen desert. Through a series of broken flashbacks, we discover that she has a dark past from her time in Miami. We also find that she is getting ready to hang up her badge and face civilization once again, this being her last season in the chilled wasteland. Her closest ally is the doctor, John Fury (Tom Skerritt) a short timer himself. He is looking forward to seeing his granddaughter stateside. It seems that Doctor Fury has been hiding from his own past many miles away from civilization.

There is a report that a man is on one of the ice fields. Investigating, Carrie finds that indeed there is a body on the exposed surface. It looks as if has been attacked and left for dead, but the mystery remains about how he got out so far from his encampment. They bring the corpse back to the base and then there is a call from the outpost where he was stationed. Something terrible is going on out at an old abandoned Russian Station. Of course Carrie goes to investigate with her pilot Delfy (Columbus Short) and finds a murdered body, a confirmed first for the continent. She also finds another investigator who may or may not have something to do with the killings.

Adding to the suspense, a dangerous storm threatens everyone on the station. She has three days before the change of the season and 24 weeks of not being able to leave their frozen home. There is a rush to find out the who and the why. The question of why someone would want to kill scientists and how this all ties to a plane buried under the snow and ice drives the plot of Whiteout.



I kept thinking that all of these plot threads were lifted from The Abyss but with a lesser degree of effect and without the supernatural elements. The film feels like it has been borrowed from half a dozen different movies, but it never becomes a true rip-off. Dominic Sena keeps the action in the movie but fails in constructing a logical final film. The second half just wanders off the cliff of the iceberg, never finding a rocky ledge to rest on. As the principal characters try to piece together the questions of the adventure, you begin to wonder exactly how different people became involved in the entire mess. There becomes too many 'wait a minute' moments where logic is thrust into the winds.

On the plus side, Kate Beckinsale is just a joy to watch on the screen. She still makes the unbelievable elements of the screenplay work because she just makes the material bend through her force of will. She just never gives an inch to making the tale credible. Dressed in a parka for almost the entire flick, the producers do find a way to show off her curves in a cheesy 'check out the hot bod' moment.

Tom Skerritt shows that he still has the skills as an actor but never brings his best game to the performance. It is more of him just reading the lines (which he does very well) than showing any dramatic tensions.

According to the press, this flick is based on a comic book/graphic novel. I had never hear of the story idea but began to wonder how close this is from the original source material. While the opening and the struggle in the ice storm ending are both done with a certain style and grace, the final film doesn't hold together well and the final dramatic scene is laughable. I'd like to see how close it was to the drawn story.

Whiteout as a diversion is an okay bit of entertainment that could have been something great. If you've seen everything else in the multiplex, it is an easy waste of time.

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