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One of the worst comic book adaptations of the modern age feels the heat of the streaming sun once more

Nobody even seemed to know, realize, or care that it was a comic book movie.

whiteout
via Warner Bros.

Kate Beckinsale has gained a curious reputation when it comes to modern day action heroes, in that she can always be relied on to deliver a worthy performance in the genre, but the movies in which she does it leave a lot to the imagination. The actress is no stranger to a dud or two, either, but Whiteout fared so badly that it was almost instantly lost to the sands of time, or snows in this case.

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Based on the four-episode series penned by The Old Guard creator Greg Rucka in 1998, nobody even seemed to notice, realize, or care that the 2009 crime thriller was a comic book adaptation. That was probably something that should have been played up in the marketing, because director Dominic Sena’s terrible take on the material was otherwise dead on arrival.

whiteout

A Rotten Tomatoes score of only seven percent to go along with an equally dismal audience approval rating of 21 percent makes Whiteout one of the worst-reviewed comic book movies of the modern era, while a box office haul of less than $18 million ensured that more salt was rubbed into the wounds after it bombed thunderously in theaters.

Beckinsale – no stranger to doing her best to elevate a mediocre genre film as the likes of Underworld, Jolt, and the Total Recall remake have proven – does the best she can as a federal marshal days away from finishing up her posting in remotest Antarctica. However, her all-too-quiet existence is shattered when she finds a dead body, forcing her to crack the case of the continent’s first-ever homicide.

The potential was definitely there, but Whiteout‘s critical and commercial performance was nothing short of embarrassing. Streaming subscribers will give almost anything a second chance, though, so FlixPatrol outing the forgotten failure as one of HBO Max’s most-watched features in the early part of this week shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise to anyone.