Film Review

Title: Edge of Darkness

Director: Martin Campbell

Stars: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston

Genre: Thriller

Studio:Warner Bros. Pictures

Audience Suitability: R

Running Time: 117 Minutes

Release Date: Jan. 29, 2010

Review by Robert Waldman

Love between a father and daughter provides lots of room for second guessing in Edge of Darkness, the newest thriller starring Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon).

James Bond director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) follows his successful rebooting of the 007 franchise with another action/adventure thriller. Edge of Darkness examines the father/daughter relationship between a Boston policeman and his newly returned daughter. When Emma Craven returns to Boston her dad is in seventh heaven. Serbian born actress Bojana Novakovic (Drag me to Hell) brings a certain innocence to her character while veteran actor Gibson shows humanity as the caring dad. Homecomings can take all sorts of shapes and reconnection here proves to be short lived.

What time the pair has together comes to an abrupt end when bullets ring out and Emma gets killed. Upset and full of anger the rest of Edge of Darkness sees Officer Craven do whatever it takes to find the killers of his little girl. Up against a wall of corruption, double dealings and hired killers the violence ratchets up as one man is pushed to the limit in an effort to get at the truth.

Martin Campbell knows his way around action and succeeds in building up loads of tension for the entire two hours. Both Gibson and Novakovic are well suited as two private people who don’t say much but have all sorts of hidden secrets. Campbell fleshes out this story with the insertion of political angles including activists and powerful people in high places which give the film an appeal as a plausible event. Some clever dialogue helps brings out the anger of this grieving father that’s well executed, along with the typical chase sequences involving cars and fast feet.

British acting ace Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) says very little as the mysterious Jedburgh but his mannerisms and quirks will grip you. Other notables in this story involving bad corporate executives and those out to expose their misdeeds include Jay O. Sanders (Cadillac Records) as a Boston police official and Danny Huston (The Kingdom) as a power hungry executive.

Unfortunately there is nothing really new in Edge of Darkess. Stories about corruption are common in both the real world and in Hollywood depictions. But Gibson turns in a soulful effort after being absent from acting for a few years. Unlike the Lethal Weapon movies that made Gibson a global superstar back in the 80s, Edge of Darkness offers no humour, concentrating instead on how a grieving father takes matters into his own hands to achieve justice – typically at the end of a gun or a clenched fist.

Read more reviews by Robert at www.moviereviewssite.com

Written by :

mutuel

 

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