Edge Of Darkness: I am aware that recently not all people are entirely favorable with the man that is Mel Gibson, i'd even stretch as far as to say that some reviews of this, his latest film, may well have been influenced by his past transgressions - which have absolutely nothing to do with his film-making i may add. Having watched this film at midday and not really knowing anything about it other than Mel called one interviewer an "Asshole" on a talk show i've got to say i was more than pleasantly surprised.
Directed by Martin Campbell, he of the awesome James Bond franchise reinvention film that was Goldeneye, Edge Of Darkness comes across - in the trailers at least - as a sort of Mel Gibson version of Taken. Allow me to put those thoughts at rest, it is 100% nothing like that Liam Neeson film and if anything it would resemble Michael Mann's excellent 1999 film The Insider a lot more than Neeson's. The trailer itself had me intrigued but i was delighted it didn't follow the same route as Pierre Morel's film.
In this Gibson plays a Boston detective Tom Craven, complete with the Boston drawl and all, whose daughter gets gunned down on his doorstop. The plot is roughly that Gibson's shattered father is seeking revenge or justice (or revenge and justice, depending on how you look at it) for his murdered daughter and, as it usually seems to go in films such as this, all is not what it seems. The more he searches the more he finds and the more he finds the more dangerous it all gets.
Based on the 1985 BBC series of the same name, Edge Of Darkness is a wonderfully paced film, full of intrigue and suspense and played out by actors who know what they're doing and do it well. Ray Winstone and Danny Huston have long been two of the most reliable actors around and even if they have starred in some crocks of shite (King Arthur & Wolverine: Origins) they still come up smelling of roses in them. They, along with Gibson, are what sets Edge Of Darkness apart from the normal run-of-the-mill crap Hollywood has produced recently, even if those films do seem to star Robert De Niro, Al Pacino or fucking Mr. Bland-Chops himself Clive Owen.
I throughly enjoyed this film, so much so i let a few friends know that if they're bored to get the finger out and go see it. Maybe the negative reviews came from Gibson's previous altercations or maybe they came from what was perceived a lack of respect towards journalists intent on only bringing up said past convictions. Regardless, i'd ignore the bad press you might have read about this and trundle on as ignorantly as possible to one of the most satisfying films of the year so far.
I might even go as far to say that Gibson's well on the road to redemption but, of course, only in movie-land. Edge Of Darkness is a fine return to form for one of cinema's anti-hero's, it is a film to put the nay-sayers back in their place.
Fast, breezy and relentlessly engaging throughout, Edge Of Darkness comes highly recommended from someone who had had their up's and down's with the man throughout their career - i mean, was their really ever a need for all those butt-shots in the 80's?
If you're stuck for something to watch then Edge Of Darkness is well worth the look and Gibson's performance is one of his best in a long while. Maybe he should get into trouble more often. A very impressive piece of celluloid altogether. 3.5 / 5
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