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Whiteout Blu-ray Disc Review

WHITEOUT (2009, Blu-ray released January 19, 2010 - MSRP $35.99)

Whiteout Blu-ray DiscWhiteout is the punching bag of 2009. Very few critics were able to find a kind word or two to write about the film. It sits at the bottom of the list of Rotten Tomatoes 100 worst-reviewed films of the decade after lingering in development hell since 1999 and being buried in the Warner vaults since 2007. But is it really that bad?

In a word, no. It’s nowhere near as compelling as the original comic book, despite telling the same story, and nowhere near as well-performed as it should be, given the talented cast. But it’s a quick watch with a solid mystery story to tell. Director Dominic Sena provides a fairly accurate, if not workman-like retelling of Greg Rucka’s tale from his Oni-published graphic novel. All the pieces of the puzzle are present but the final assemblage manages to emerge uninspired and a touch dull. It’s really a shame because the setup alone proves how gripping Whiteout can be in the right hands (cough…Rucka…cough). But it’s not bad. The story, at its core, is quite a good one. And if you’re into police procedurals (C.S.I., Law and Order) or whodunits you’ll no doubt find something to like here.

Kate Beckinsale plays Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshall about to complete her tenure at an Antarctic research station. Before she can hang up her gun and return home, a scientist is murdered, the first ever crime of the kind committed on the continent, and a shocking mystery begins to reveal itself. Stetko and United Nations agent Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht) must race to solve the crime and uncover the secrets long buried in the ice before they get themselves stranded at the station in six months of darkness with a killer on the loose. For my money, it’s Macht who ruins the film. Can this guy even act? He was kind of funny in The Spirit but his work in Whiteout seems like something you’d see on a community theatre stage. Even talented performers like Beckinsale and Tom Skeritt deliver lines like they’re just collecting a paycheck. It’s a shame really but the combination of limp-dialogue and poor, apathetic delivery means we never really manage to care about the characters. With a great setup like this and good story on top of it, there’s no reason that Whiteout couldn’t have been a knockout. As it is, it’ll provide you with an entertaining hundred-minutes of escapist, frigid cop drama.

Whiteout looks all right on Blu-ray. It’s not going to win any awards but it’s not bad. There’s some colour banding and wavering contrast to deal with but you won’t find any nasty artifacting or edge halos here. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless is the sonic equivalent of the image - decent all around but not brilliant by any regard.

There are a handful of special features on Whiteout, most of which are exclusive to the Blu-ray. The featurette highlighting the transition from comic book to screen is the best thing going on the disc. Spend a good 12-minutes with author Greg Rucka and illustrator Steve Lieber as they discuss their work and their feelings about the its cinematic translation. The disc is rounded out with a deleted scene, a 12-minute “making of” featurette and a digital copy of the film.

Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Whiteout comes to Blu-ray in January

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