Mel comes back in from the Edge...of Darkness

Dark. Gritty. Foreboding. Or certainly what Warner Bros’ Edge of Darkness was intended to be. To say it isn’t all three of those is both unfair and does a disservice to director Martin Campbell – who yet again delivers a film that is driven not only by action, but by raw emotions too.

Starring Mel Gibson (Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, What Women Want) and Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, 44 inch chest, The Departed) Edge of Darkness tells the story of Boston detective Thomas Craven who, having just welcomed his estranged daughter back into his home, sees her gunned down in mysterious circumstances.

Everybody, the Boston PD included, assume that the bullet was meant for him. Seems like a pretty open and shut case doesn’t it? Find the shooter and make him pay? Pretty much, except Craven’s daughter was having nose-bleeds and vomiting violently up until she died and upon investigation, Craven finds a gun amongst his daughters belongings. Now there really is a mystery to solve…






Edge of Darkness was never designed by Martin Campbell to redesign the thriller genre. It knows its limitations and sticks within its limits. Yes, it may not be as gritty as the trailer above makes it out to be. And yet for all it does indeed have limitations, it also has masses of strengths, one being the terrific chemistry between Gibson and Winstone. They have very little time together on screen, but when they do, you know it.

Simple scenes, not particularly full of tension, yet you simply cannot take your eyes off their pair. Their dialogue is perfect and makes it feel as if they’re playing an intricate game of cat and mouse – one wrong word and the guns will be out – even though they’re discussing very ordinary things such as whiskey and children.

It also has to be said that Warner Bros’ made the perfect decision to give the directorial hot-seat to Martin Campbell (of Casino Royale fame). He is a man that knows just how to manage emotion, blend it with action, and yet still retain sentiment that carries throughout the entire film. It is all about Craven’s love for his daughter and there can be no more powerful an emotion than the love between a parent and child and this is what the audience is privy to, albeit in between a gun fight and a tense scene or two.

Edge of Darkness doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking and at times the dialogue and script are pretty simplistic. “Everything is illegal in Massachusetts,” is a line spoken too often, but it can easily be overlooked as there is plenty of other great dialogue (especially from Winstone) to keep the audience interested. It should also be noted that if you think this film will be like Liam Neeson’s Taken and offer wall to wall violence, then you are very much mistaken.

It is about a corporate conspiracy that an ordinary, grieving father (albeit a detective – they can never just be a plumber or a salesman can they?) sets out to try and break in order to get some justice for his daughter. Like most movie conspiracies, this one does indeed go all the way to the top.

The film itself is not too long, its engaging and will keep you watching throughout. There are some fantastic fight scenes in it, some great camera work and a fantastic score that even Hanz Zimmer would be proud of.

It was nice too to see Mel Gibson back doing what he does best. Acting. Yes he’s made some awful mistakes in the past and some of you may not like him or his choice of movies over the years, but I would advise you to put that aside and give this film a watch. It wont redefine cinema, if you don’t particularly like Gibson then it probably wont sway you opinion of him.

But you know what? It may just entertain you.