Believe it or not, it's been a good seven years since Mel Gibson headlined anything but the tabloids. After helming controversial pet projects and outing himself as kind of a wackadoo, he seemed all but forgotten as a major action star. But in "Edge of Darkness", Gibson returns to remind the world of the qualities that made him famous in the first place: kickin' ass and takin' names.
Based on the 80's British series of the same name, "Edge of Darkness" stars Gibson as Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven. When a bullet meant for Craven kills his daughter instead, he goes on the hunt for her killer. In his investigation, he uncovers secrets about his daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic), that lead him to believe she was the target all along. As he pieces the puzzle together, he finds himself in the crosshairs of corporate dirty-dealers, governmental operatives and a shadowy "fixer" (a mumbly Ray Winstone) called in to clean up the mess.
Co-written by "
The Departed" scribe, William Monahan, "Edge of Darkness" has a promising start. Gibson reins in his usual manic eye-rolling and mugging to portray Craven as a terse, no b.s., straightforward Boston cop. With a serviceable Southie accent and the posture of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Gibson nearly disappears into Craven's well-worn shoes. A widower with a grown daughter, Craven is a solitary man who doesn't express his feelings very well. That is, until Emma is taken from him.
Craven's grief over his daughter's loss turns to revenge as he mounts his investigation. Craven is a man of few words and many bullets, and as the clues mount up, so does the body count. Essentially given free reign by the police department to hunt down the killers on his own, Craven goes to (increasingly ridiculous) extremes to get his point across. Quickly, the film moves from measured, taut crime thriller into "Lethal Weapon" territory.
Director Martin Campbell bears much of the blame as "Edge of Darkness" dives deeper into the ridiculous. Though he worked on the original series, he is best known for his work as the director of the latest James Bond movies. It shows, since he makes Emma's former boss, Jack Bennett (Danny Huston), no less than a Bond villain. In a glass office perched atop a subterranean nuclear facility and oozing smarm, Bennett is almost comically evil. He and his slick-haired goons even go so far as to strap Craven to a gurney in an underground bunker, Blofeld-style.
As the bullets fly, so do the one-liners (like "I'm the guy with nothin' to lose..."). To Monahan and Gibson's credit, the bon mots are better written and delivered than nearly any other action flick, but the fact they need to exist is a bit of a shame. Sure, as an action film, it's entertaining enough, but it could have been so much more. Gibson pushes the edges of the action hero box a bit, but not as much as he could have. It would have been nice to see more "
Gone Baby Gone" and less "
Taken".
