Edge of Darkness (2010)

This is a great mystery/action/crime film that opens with a murder, as the trailer advertised. But the mystery around the murder is the meat of Edge of Darkness. So, it fits the mold of old-fashioned crime thrillers but in a modern setting. The action and entertainment come from how Mel Gibson, the main character, solves the mystery. Some fine performances by supporting actors add to the quality of the film. This is a top notch thriller that also has some unusual twists at the end. Excellent entertainment overall.

One quirk about the film that others may also find amusing is in the portrayal of the U.S. Senator from Boston as a Republican. Until the recent election to fill the seat of deceased Edward Kennedy, there hadn't been a Republican in the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts in more than three decades. But then, movies are fiction, aren't they!

Fmovies: Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a good cop whose only daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) returns for a visit. While she initially appears to be fine, she turns out to be incredibly sick. On the way to see a doctor, Emma is gunned down in Craven's front doorway. His fellow detectives think the hit was meant for him, but Craven digs deeper and believes the nuclear manufacturing company she worked for may have something to do with it.

When Edge of Darkness was released this past January, it was marketed as a return for Gibson to the action thriller genre he has always excelled at. Except the film was actually more of a slow burn thriller, much like last year's fascinating and incredibly well done State of Play, and both based off a BBC mini-series. Albeit, this film is punctuated with scenes filled with incredibly graphic violence. But that initial flub is not the only thing working against the film.

The film masquerades as being break-neck paced, and uses this as an excuse to never really develop anyone. Emma is killed off less than ten minutes after the film begins, and the film never really lets up afterwards with Craven's search for the truth about his daughter's murder. We get very little on who Craven is, outside of a few dialogue inferences and his "nothing to lose" attitude. In a way, he is very similar to Liam Neeson's absent minded character in last year's Taken, except Craven actually takes the time to talk to people and not just kill them off. We get even less on Emma, outside of seeing her as a child in home video footage that appears to be haunting Craven.

If that were not enough, the film throws multiple characters at the audience almost at random, and very few of them stick. I found it incredibly hard to keep track of at least a handful of them, because they were so similar. Outside of Ray Winstone's Jedburgh and Danny Huston's Bennett, most of the characters are of no particular significance other than to move Craven's investigation along. I imagine this issue is largely the fault of the original six-part mini-series, which had the time to bring in a plethora of characters and develop them as opposed to a two-hour film. But State of Play managed to both keep its focus for the majority of time and develop its main stable of characters fairly well. How could this film not follow suit?

The film also suffers from a fairly ridiculous third act. Getting into specifics would ruin the film, but what can be said is that it ruins everything that came before it. It betrays everything the film has going for it, and boils itself down into a rather goofy actioner. The film is never really a revenge thriller, but more of a thriller about a man trying to find out why his daughter was killed. I really enjoyed the film and its last half when I first saw it theatrically a few months ago. But watching it again at home, it almost comes off as having gone totally off the rails much too quickly. The film's penchant for hyper violence gets far too ahead of itself, and it feels almost like the filmmakers wanted to please the audience with something totally different than what the film sets up for (plus, it feels a bit too close in similarity to the ending of another of William Monahan's previous scripts).

Despite all this, the film is still great when it is playing itself as the slow burn thriller it actually is. It is taut, suspenseful, and a touch unpredictable. For its problems, I really enjoyed the conspiracy filled storyline, and really liked som

Yes, that's a good title for this film about a good cop who throws out all the rules and lives on the "edge of darkness" after his daughter is poisoned and murdered. At that point, he "doesn't give a s--t," as he states in the film. He will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to his daughter, who killed her and who was behind it all. This reminded me of Mel Gibson's 1999 film "Payback" where he plays a rough character on a mission.

There is no wasted talk in here, especially by Gibson's character, "Det.Thomas Craven." Although a little shocked because I didn't think I'd see this veteran actor return to these kind of roles, I have to admit he's fascinating in them. The only difference - and you really see this on the fine Bu-Ray transfer - is all the wrinkles in Mel's face! He ain't a kid, anymore. Either is actor Ray Winstone, but he is equally fascinating as the mysterious "Jedburgh." This is a rough film, make no mistake. The language is very profane in the first half but surprisingly absent of that in the second half. The tenseness and the no-compromise violence, however, is there from start-to-finish. The movie doesn't overdo the amount of violence, however, keeping things cerebral enough so when something does happen, it's quick and shocking.

The villains are the stereotypical ones of Hollywood: the U.S. government, the Defense Department, a senator (a Republican, of course), and a few other of the usual suspects. However, despite that normal bias, I found the film very entertaining with plenty of twists and turns to keep your brain going, not just your base instincts. Regarding the latter, there are some gruesome scenes in here, so be warned about that. As I said, it's a rough, take-no-prisoners film.

Edge of Darkness fmovies. OK so after x amount of years in the "Lead Actor" wilderness Mel is back with some serious conviction.

I have heard mixed reviews and seen a couple on here and of course we would like to say we are not affected but it may make the difference between seeing it at a cinema or waiting for the DVD.

Well i for one am i glad i went to see it on the big screen,a big screen remake of a little known TV series from the 80's might surprise a few people but it shows that good writing and strong characters will always impress the powers that be.

Anyway i'm slightly drifting off subject, this film holds you from start to finish, it is filmed with a consistent tension that never lets up.

A shocking episode and then a world of pain for Mel Gibson lies in store, along the way we are introduced to the kind of shady power hungry people that we know must exist, but we hope as (pretty much) law abiding citizens we never have to lose sleep over.

Danny Houston is excellent and Ray Winstone are so convincing in their roles that you find yourself routing for a man who openly admits to killing for a living...

The music is subtle but really drives the film along leading to in my opinion a shocking climax,having been to the city of Boston a few times i can see how it makes for interesting and unexplored location, the same way it did in The Departed..

OK so lets wrap it up, if you are a Mel Gibson fan, a secret admirer of 1980s thrillers...or planning your next vacation in Massachusettes, go see it!!

Mel Gibsons first stab at a lead role since...wait for it....2002's Signs. He went behind the camera for the graphic Passion of the Christ and the beautiful Apocalypto. With Edge of Darkness he's back with the gun in his hand and on a quest to find answers. His daughter was shot dead right in front of him on their porch. The gunman yelled her last name and fled. Craven, being a cop, thought it was for him, not his daughter. He quickly discovers that there was more to his little girl than he originally thought and is determined to find out who killed her and why.

Everyone loves a good mystery film right? A detective is solving clues to find the truth behind some kind of cover up? Edge of Darkness thinks it's one of those films. Gibson goes to people, looking for answers. He gets little in return. People are scared, there is something big going down and only MEL Gibson can stop it. For Craven, he has nothing left to loose. His only daughter died in his arms, he's not afraid to die. A bit of a revenge tale like Death Wish, but the Chinatown aspect of it sets it apart enough to make it enjoyable.

Gibson throws on a Boston accent, nothing too irritating. There are a few scenes that you'll have to suspend reality for, like when someone gets hit by a car at the right place at the right time. A little far fetched just for the sake of shock value. Edge of Darkness is good enough to keep your attention for the running time, but not great enough to have you keep talking about it days later. It's a well made time waster for those looking for something that will entertain.

He is in every sense of the word back. It has been over seven years since Mel Gibson graced the multiplexes with his presence. In that time he has directed two films (one wildly successful, the other wildly good) and for some he has ruined his ability to be seen merely as an actor by making some despicable decisions in his personal life. I will simply say that while the man is no friend of mine I am fond of his work. In this movie which would have been a good one with or without him he effortlessly slips into the persona that dominates every picture in his career. Enough about the man, let me elaborate on the character and the world he inhabits.

Edge of Darkness was a UK TV series some 20 odd years ago. The director of that series is the man behind the camera here, Martin Campbell (director of one of the previous decade's best Casino Royale). Along the way you will have to excuse some implausibility's. Notice I say implausibility's and impossibilities. The difference is often what makes a thriller thrilling or simply dumb.

Boston Detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) is picking up his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) for a visit home. She doesn't come home often and there is a spring in the step of this aging cop. We can see though that something is up with her. Her nose bleeds often and there is something clearly on her mind. Before she can spill it to her dad she is murdered brutally on his front porch. Tom immediately becomes a man on a mission. Don't mistake him for someone without feelings. He is racked by flashbacks and memories of his child. This motivates him but saddens him far more. Along the way he discovers that he may not have been the target of the assailants but that his daughter might have some skeletons in her closet. His investigation of course takes him away from his normal jurisdiction as an officer of the law. He's a man on targeting revenge not righteousness. Eventually his search leads him to his daughter's former employer which is engaged in defense contracting (the shady type of course) with the U.S. government. The company's name is Northmoor and its head is Jack Bennett (Danny Huston) a man so passive and intelligent you wouldn't even think to call him a monster. Aiding or perhaps prohibiting Tom is the savvy and mysterious Jedberg (Ray "how haven't I been nominated for an Oscar yet" Winstone).

The plot of this film requires a little more detail than I have supplied but the less you know about Northmoor or Ms. Craven's dealings the more you will enjoy this. Suffice it to say that while this plot is a bit wild it is in fact in line with the characters and the world it portrays. There is always a grain of realism when films accuse of the government of quietly allying itself with effective but perhaps immoral defense contractors (Google: "Blackwater"). All this is way above the head of our hero but his intelligence guides him through his personal investigation. He's a thinker far more than an action hero. Along the way, he does get himself out a few physically improbable situations but that's okay. It's nothing over the top and Gibson's so fiercely personifies this conflicted man that we root for him instead of roll our eyes when he blasts a car off the road. The cast is aces. Winstone is perfect as a man with a mysteriously intelligent man with the skill set and persona to control the situations at hand while still seeming human. Danny Huston is becoming a true presence as a villain-character actor. We loathe