“Whiteout” Review

This is a really fantastic thriller that was completely overlooked in theaters.  It grips you from the terrific opening scene to the unbearably tense conclusion.  You won’t find a better example of the genre in 2010.  Do yourself a favor and seek out this awesome movie on DVD!

I have to admit that I am predisposed to enjoying “Whiteout”.  I can pretty much guarantee that I will like any film with trains, snow or Kate Beckinsale.  I can’t really explain that statement.  It is simply a fact.  This movie may not have any trains, but it is wall-to-wall with the other two.

I knew this was a gem around the 10-minute mark, shortly after the mid-air shootout sequence and the shower scene introduction to K-Becks.  I don’t think I blinked for the remaining hour and twenty minutes.

Katie Becksie (her and I are on a pet name basis) plays Carrie Stetko, a feisty US Marshall assigned to one of the worst posts imaginable — a research base in the Antarctic.  The reasons for that become clear later in the film.  She is thrust into a murder investigation as a series of gruesome discoveries make it clear that someone is after something very valuable.

What follows is a superbly directed set of action sequences and a fascinating mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.  I loved the landscape of the film.  The blizzard conditions are ultimately cinematic.  There are a couple of gorgeous aerial shots that convey the desolation that surrounds the base.  I truly appreciated the two ingenious action scenes that showcase guide-wires and carabiners.  And I was impressed that I never lost track of the scenes despite the “whiteout” weather.

KB is superb in this role.  She proved in the “Underworld” series that she is very capable of carrying an action movie.  And Kate might be the only woman in the world who could look sexy in full arctic gear and a fur-lined trapper hat.  “Whiteout” delivers exactly what it promises.  It is a perfect late night slice of entertainment.