Kate Beckinsale, who is as gorgeous as ever, plays a U.S. Marshal whose tour of duty in Antarctica is coming to an end when a murder takes place keeping her there.
This is a murder mystery, NOT a movie about monsters or whatever in Antarctica. They already made that movie, it's called The Thing and it is fantastic, so go see it if you haven't.
I mention that because that's apparently the biggest complaint people had about this film. They got the impression that this was a horror film. Not sure if that's the fault of the folks who made the trailers or the consumers who didn't understand what they were going to see.
This was based on a book, and it's pretty damn faithful to it. There were a few things that were added, but overall I was very impressed with how well they followed the original story.
Kate is joined on screen by the always solid Tom Skerritt who plays the station's doctor.
The story flows pretty smoothly, and despite this not being an action flick, there's not a lot of "sitting in an office chatting" scenes. In fact, the director does a fantastic job of really using the environment and the story to make you feel as if anything could happen at any moment. Dominic Sena is the director, and I truly think he should give horror and/or suspense films a chance based on his work here.
The real star of the film is Antarctica. Just seeing how everything is different there really adds a lot to the film. Watching the chase scenes is particularly entertaining because of the safety systems there to keep you from wandering off into the snow. It's not something I want to describe, you'll just have to see it. It's one of the few, if only, times in film where your immersion level immediate declines, but that actually adds to your enjoyment of the movie. It's quite odd.
My biggest complaint would be an outdoor scene between the Marshal, a fed, and the killer. It wasn't in the book, and it's slightly over the top. It's passable though.
It's a solid rental and one you can enjoy with your significant other.
6 out of 10.
Whiteout
Not sure if that's the fault of the folks who made the trailers or the consumers who didn't understand what they were going to see.
Out of curiosity I just went and watched a trailer. Clearly this movie is an action-filled thrill-ride of a film about some scientists in Antarctica that are out hunting meteors when they find something terrible under the ice. Something terrible that will kill them all!!1! And also make a plane crash.
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I just watched it too, and TPR is pretty much dead on. A horrible, horrible trailer for this film.GORDON wrote:So the same way Max Payne was marketed as a monster flick?
They were apparently trying to appeal to men, when they should have marketed this film for women. It's a strong female character that leads the whole film. Men would have come along because of the book, Kate, Antarctica, and their lady friend wants to see it...
It's a decent murder mystery flick, but don't expect the action that the trailer implies.
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