Review: Revenge is sweet in ‘Edge of Darkness’

For those wondering if Mel Gibson still has the moxie to carry a film, Martin Campbell’s new revenge thriller Edge of Darkness should answer all lingering doubts and silence the naysayers. Gibson is back and he brought enough bullets for everybody.

Edge of Darkness, based on the 1985 BBC miniseries, which was also directed by Campbell, centers on Thomas Craven (Gibson), a Boston detective whose estranged daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is brutally slain in front of his home. Police believe the killing was accidental and that the real target was the elder Craven. As the investigation begins, Craven discovers oddities in Emma’s belongings such as a gun and a radiation detector. Quickly, he believes that the real target was Emma all along and that her association with NorthMoore, a non-governmental research-and-development facility, may have led to her death. The case leads him to the office of NorthMoore chief Jack Bennett (Danny Huston) whose ambivalence and smarminess draws immediate red flags along with multiple encounters with a shadowy fixer, Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), whose allegiance to any one side is questionable at best, murderous at worst.

Craven soon finds himself sinking deeper into a conspiracy involving high levels of government, mysterious figures, car chases, a face being blown off and a copious amount of ginger ale. As the secrets begin to unfold, it seems Emma’s violent execution may not have been an accident: it may have been a matter of national security.

Martin Campbell, who also directed the gritty James Bond reboot Casino Royale, stays loyal to his original work will giving a decidedly Yankee tone to this shooter.  Edge of Darkness is presented in the vein of Pierre Morel’s Taken with a hint of Gibson’s underrated 1999 film Payback, a throwback to ’70s revenge epics where tidy resolutions are replaced with a growing body count. Written by Academy Award winner William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell, who adapted the original miniseries script by the late Troy Kennedy Martin, Edge of Darkness is an obscenely gripping tale with enough suspense and surprises for all. That is, if you can make sense of the over-reach and convoluted plot.

This movie is far from perfect despite the powerful draw of the film’s anti-hero. The third act of the movie is seemingly taken from another film all together and some of the supporting roles, especially Huston’s proto-typical and smarmy corporate chief and the Republican senator played by Damian Young, are laughable stock characters. Gibson easily carries the film with conviction and it is fun to see the one-time Hollywood icon in action again. His last starring role was in the 2002 dirge Signs, though since then he has busy directing the controversial The Passion of the Christ along with another underrated gem, Apocalypto. And yes, he’s been busy with other, ahem, intoxicating activities also.

Edge of Darkness is some of the best fun had in theaters in quite some time, though consult your doctor prior to the film if you have a heart condition.

1 hour, 57 minutes. Rated R: Some strong, bloody violence, profanity.