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Sep 8, 2010
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Viewed 125 times -
Published on Mar 8, 2010
Movie Review: Edge Of Darkness Mel Gibson returns in revenge thriller `Edge of Darkness' In Hollywood, there's no such thing as an un-sinister conspiracy. The deeper, the darker, the more deceptive and devilish, the better. And Mel Gibson burrows down into a murky rabbit hole indeed in "Edge of Darkness," a revenge thriller based on an award-winning British TV series from the 1980s. Gibson plays Tom Craven, a Boston homicide detective devastated when his visiting daughter is killed by a drive-by shooting. His fellow cops think the shotgun blast was meant for their veteran co-worker, but Craven's not so sure. A little digging around uncovers his daughter's involvement in an activist group trying to bring attention to the misdeeds of an energy corporation with some sinister, extremely troubling, and high-level ties to the U.S. government.  Could the government be involved in the assassination of Craven's daughter? That's what mad Mel spends most of the movie trying to ferret out. You won't be surprised, as he dives into this big can o' conspiracy worms, to find sleazy corporate honchos, shady government operatives, rotten cops, corrupt politicians and some justifiably paranoid people who are terrified to share what they know.  There's no direct link to the title "Edge of Darkness." No character says, for instance, "We're definitely on the edge of darkness now, man." But the movie spends a good deal of time (and dialogue) pondering death as inevitable and unavoidable, a veil of unknown darkness on the other side of life. Gibson's character knows he walking on that edge as he tracks his daughter's killers on his dangerous mission of vigilante justice.  British actor Ray Winstone, who still bears the imposing, tough-guy frame of the boxer he used to be before taking off the gloves and taking up drama, plays a character that might even be regarded as a sort of angel of death. His covert, government-sanctioned "fixer" makes problems disappear by whatever means necessary. At one point, Gibson's character tells him he doesn't want to "walk into the dark" with him, knowing what would likely befall him if he did.  But don't mistake this for a deep cinematic chat-fest about the mortal coil and what happens when it gets shuffled off. The filmmakers know what audiences will come to see, and they give it to them: Mel Gibson in full get-even mode, orchestrated to a bloody crescendo of pulpy revenge that cuts a final swath through a pileup of confusing details, tough-guy one-liners, predictable plot turns and only-in-the-movies coincidence.  It's been eight years since Gibson's last starring movie role (in the alien-invasion thriller "Signs"). He might have chosen a better, and brighter, vehicle for his return trip to the big screen. But watching his character's slow-burn anger unfurl into full, get-even grandeur keeps the crowd-pleasing juice stirring in this compound-conspiracy cocktail.  -Neil Pond, American Profile Comments:
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