FILM REVIEW: Edge of Darkness

Posted by: Tony – Jan 31, 2010

I would like to think that Edge of Darkness comes as the result of a long overdue conversation that someone finally worked up the courage to have with Mel Gibson. Perhaps someone reminded him that he was once one of the most popular movie stars in the world before he began coming off as a racist lunatic in interviews or taking a drive after knocking back a few drinks. When he stopped acting in movies and made his personal life tabloid fodder people began questioning why they ever liked him in the first place. Now, Edge of Darkness, Gibson’s first starring role in eight years, arrives to remind us all that whoever he may be in private, Mel Gibson is a talented and charismatic actor that belongs on the big screen.

In this film, Gibson returns to a kind of role that he is no stranger to. He plays an honest Boston police detective by the name of Tom Craven. He lives alone. He has a daughter, Emma, but she is grown and lives far away. He loves her but rarely has the time to speak with her, let alone visit her. That makes her surprise visit home all the more special to him. Unfortunately, the reunion does not turn out the way either of them planned. Emma is terribly sick and tells her father that she has something important she needs to say to him. She does not have the chance, though. She is gunned down right in front of Tom on his front porch. Tom’s friends in the department assume that he was the intended target and Emma was killed by mistake. Tom requests all of his old case files sent to his home so he can begin to investigate who killed his daughter while trying to get him.

This is certainly a familiar set up, and it leads to an equally familiar story involving government cover ups and evil corporations and mysterious agents who may or may not be on Craven’s side. There are chases and fights as Craven begins to unravel the truth behind his daughter’s murder. One character actually states plainly the lesson that this and all other movies like it teach to us. He somberly reminds Craven that nothing is the way it actually is, and that everything is just the way someone made it appear to be. Fortunately, Craven does not accept defeat so easily.

Yes, all of this has been done many times before, but it is done exceptionally well in this case. The director, Martin Campbell, knows how to craft a smart action thriller. His most recent film prior to this was Casino Royale, the best James Bond movie in recent memory. Some directors may have looked at this project and decided to downplay the investigation scenes because the action is what brings in the masses. Others might have had the opposite approach because a lot action is overdone. Campbell achieves a perfect balance. The meticulous investigation is not glossed over, but at no time does the pace feel slow. This is definitely an action movie, but at least there is a clear reason for everything that occurs.

So many actors make a comeback after several years by returning in a role unlike anything they have done before. In Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson returns in the kind of role he does best. Everyone always liked him as an action hero, and he has now proven he can still play one convincingly and enjoyably. The box office numbers will likely determine if this is the start of a comeback or merely a last hurrah.