‘Edge of Darkness’ Review

Released in theaters: 1/29/2010

Edge of Darkness might seem like familiar territory for Martin Campbell, and rightfully so. Not only did he direct this feature film, but he directed the material for which it was adapted from: the 1985 multi-award winning BBC mini-series of the same name. Most recently, Campbell is responsible for revitalizing the James Bond franchise when he directed Casino Royale. Though he can’t take total credit, as it tends to help when you cast arguably the greatest James Bond in the long history in Daniel Craig. Nevertheless, it was Martin Campbell’s vision that brought the film to life. He scores once again here with Edge of Darkness. It’s an edgy and taut conspiracy thriller, saturated with tension throughout most of the film. It also helps casting Mel Gibson as a bereaved father out for retribution. He’s pretty good in that role.

The film opens with an eerie but powerful scene when three bodies surface in the Connecticut River, just of the shore of NorthMoore, one of the most successful private contractors in the country. We eventually meet Thomas Craven, a single father and veteran homicide detective of the Boston Police Department. Early on, Craven picks up his daughter Emma at the train station. But something is very wrong. Emma keeps vomiting, once on the way home and once at the dinner table.  After finally confessing that something is indeed terribly wrong, Craven and Emma rush out the door to go to the hospital only to be confronted by a masked gunman who blasts Emma through the front door with a shotgun. One of a handful of startling scenes. For the next hour and change, we see what we went to the movies to see: Mad Mel teetering on the edge of darkness. On the brink of releasing the rage we’ve seen in Braveheart and Ransom and there are quite a few moments where Mel really impresses. He’s always been a great actor, but he’s known for being a great on-screen crier. It’s those few scenes where you know all he wants to do is find a corner, breakdown and cry a good cry. But he doesn’t.  He fights through the tears and keeps strength of mind for the sake of his daughter. Mel’s performance was flat-out awesome in my mind and was everything I expected. Say what you want about the variations of the Boston accent, Mel gets me jacked-up either way. He’s got an intense stare-down unlike any other actor I’ve seen and he’s just flat out intimidating. It’s been way too long since he last appeared on the big screen in a major role and he gives quite the comeback performance.

The supporting cast was good. Bojana Novakovic did a nice job as Emma Craven but didn’t really see a lot of screen time.  And for the record, I hate Danny Huston. Not only do I hate his acting, but he’s annoying. Whenever I think of him, I picture his stupid face as a vampire in 30 Days of Night. I mean he’s a Huston for Christ sakes; he should be a great actor. He’s shaming his father’s legendary name. He should do us all a favor and quit…but I digress. The role I was anxious to see was that of Darius Jedburgh. The role that was originally supposed to go to Robert De Niro but he dropped out after creative differences with Mel. So who steps in but Ray Winstone aka Mr. French from The Departed. He’s the man! He creates such an intriguing character. A sinister Government clean-up artist whose loyalties aren’t quite defined. His thick British accent and command of character have you not only trying to understand what he says, but desperately trying to figure out which side he was playing for. It’s a tremendously subtle role that I thought was near perfect.

Edge of Darkness is a film that I think was misconstrued when marketed on TV. During some of the trailers and TV spots, it looks more like a “Taken” rather than the film it truly is. Does is have some of the essence of Taken? Of course. But it dives deeper and darker into human emotions. The screenplay was written and adapted by William Monahan, who also wrote The Departed. His writing tends to explode to life when his words transform into pictures and hit the screen. To me, he tells a great story that is not only realistically brutal and violent, but believable and memorable. However, if I have one knock on the film, it’s that the third act is a little…weak.  What I thought was going to be an awesome ending, turned out to be a throw away sequence that left me a little unsatisfied. Despite the film’s flimsy ending, it’s still a powerhouse of a film.

“You had better decide whether you’re hanging on the cross or bangin’ in the nails.”

IMDb: 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 57%

MovieWiseGuys: 8.0/10