Whiteout

A US Deputy Marshall (Kate Beckinsale) is assigned to investigate a murder in a secluded Alaskan base and only has three days to solve the case before an impending storm hits. Whilst delving deeper into what's been going on, she crosses paths with a US operative (Gabriel Macht) and together they come across another body, which leads them to believe that a serial killer is on the loose in the most unlikely of places.

Whiteout should have been great; unfortunately it's God awful. Not even the beautiful snowy vistas, which are a cinematographer's paradise, can save it. What should be a nice, modern update on the classic claustrophobic thriller The Thing, turns out to be even worse than Sylvester Stallone's Detox.

A terrible script with gaping plot holes, a pedestrian pace and colder performances than the movie's setting are not a great start, and things just go from bad to worse. Director Dominic Sena shoots many of the film's action scenes under a blizzard, which I suppose he intends to heighten tension but which instead only increases frustration.

Each actor shares equal responsibility when it comes to abysmal frozen, distant performances, which is tragic given Beckinsale and Macht are accomplished performers who've shone in better roles. Instantly forgettable and deeply meaningless, this is a film whose most memorable moment is when Beckinsale is in the shower, and even that's foggy.

Whiteout? More like washout - a predictable tension-free thriller that is as eventful as an Antarctic winter.