Movie of the Day: Whiteout

The Mike here, and I'm not gonna lie to you. I watched this movie because a) I love when movies are set in snowy places, and 2) Kate Beckinsale is really hot. So that's out of the way.

Though it was advertised as a horror film, Whiteout is your basic "female cop on the trail of a killer" film, which plays like a tamer version of Taking Lives (with Angelina Jolie) or Murder by Numbers (with Sandra Bullock). Those films both had some interesting twists psychologically, even if they were a little muddled, while this one just has the fact that it's set in Antarctica as a twist. It's, surprisingly to me, based off a graphic novel - and I have to imagine there was more to that story than was put into this drab movie.

Director Dominic Sena (making his first big-screen feature since Gone in 60 Seconds and Swordfish were summer hits) doesn't offer a lot if interesting visuals (except for the last few moments of the film, which feel tacked on), and the supporting cast (The Spirit's Gabriel Macht, Armored's Columbus Short, and veteran cool guy Tom Skerrit) seems wasted on the dull script. Ms. Beckinsale is adequate in the lead, and is quite cute, though she seems skinny compared to how she's appeared in more luscious roles. (Kate, you can come over to The Mike's Lair for a cheeseburger anytime.)

There's not much really wrong with the movie, there's just little that's interesting. There's a bit of amputation and the moment when Beckinsale's character has a DVD copy of the giant-spider classic THEM! in her room excited me, but that's about it. I'd say you're safe skipping this one, even if Ms. Beckinsale looks pretty good.