Edge of Darkness (**½)
Directed by: Martin Campbell Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, Jay O. Sanders
Seen: May 7th 2010
**½ Out of ****
Edge of Darkness starts with Thomas Craven (Gibson) picking up his daughter Emma (Novakovic) from the South Train Station in Boston. He stops for groceries on the way home, and walking back to the car he sees his daughter vomiting next to the car in the rain. As they sit down for dinner at home, Emma vomits again, and as her nose starts bleeding she tells her dad that she needs to get to a hospital immediately. As they walk out the front door, two masked men run up and one shouts “Craven” before firing his shotgun, propelling Emma through the door back into the house, ripping her chest to pieces, and they drive off as Craven holds his dying daughter in his arms.
Craven is a police officer himself, and as his former partner Bill Whitehouse (sanders) warns him to not stay at home for the night since these men are armed and dangerous, Craven’s response is that he is too. The police handle it as an attempt on Thomas Craven’s life, but Thomas soon finds out that there is a stronger conspiracy linked to this than simply offing a Boston cop. Emma used to work for Northmoor, a weapons contractor with ties to the government, and they deal in shady business. Darius Jedburgh (Winstone) is an accomplished CIA officer who is sent to cover up the murder, but the two men find a connection point in parenthood – Jedburgh because he never had children and his legacy will end with him, having no-one to bury him, and Craven because he lost his only child. Jedburgh covertly offers Craven assistance in his quest for vengeance, and what vengeance he does get, going right up to the malevolent boss of Northmoor, Jack Bennett (Huston).
Mel Gibson is at his rampaging best in roles such as this, as he has proved as the relentless Porter in Payback and many more, and here is no different, you wouldn’t want to mess with this man. It is also his first role in front of the cameras in over 5 years, both TV and movies. Bojana Novakovic is a relative unknown, but she is convincing in her short time among the living and afterwards as Thomas Craven keeps seeing and hearing his daughter in small interactions. Ray Winstone as the shady government operative is a good replacement for Robert De Niro, who was initially cast in the role, but at times his accent makes comprehension slightly difficult. Danny Huston is the evil corporate cut-out bad guy, and he holds up sufficiently as the plot starts unravelling.
The action sequences in Edge of Darkness are well done, as director Martin Campbell is no slouch when it comes to action (he also directed Casino Royale, the two Zorro movies, Vertical Limit and Golden Eye), but the execution of the more dramatic scenes makes you wonder whether the movie should have been more of a straight-up action movie. I found the ending (the last 10 seconds of the movie) laughable, almost as if the movie makers were looking for a way to make viewers feel clever (even if it is undeserved) for what they have just pieced together (even though it is as straight forward as taking lunch). Thinking back on some events it also seemed illogical or at least so improbable as to be impossible: case in point being one scene where a character is hit by a car on a deserted road a second after she gets out of Craven’s car – how could you possibly time that?
Edge of Darkness is a good enough movie with some great one liners (You had better decide whether you’re hangin’ on the cross or banging in the nails), but doesn’t hold up after the initial thoughts of simply enjoying it fade a few minutes after leaving the cinema. Mel Gibson is great, but as a whole Edge of Darkness is only an average movie, despite its deft handling of action sequences.
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