A disclaimer: Edge of Darkness is not a rock opera based around Bruce Springsteen’s fourth album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. It’s a shame, because that would have been epic. Instead, Edge of Darkness is a revenge drama based on a 1985 BBC series, but ultimately feels like a watered-down version of Taken.
Edge of Darkness stars Mel Gibson as Thomas Craven, a Boston cop who plays by his own rules. He has nothing to lose and is on a crusade to avenge his daughter’s murder, system be damned. Edge of Darkness sounds like a mash up of Lethal Weapon and Mad Max, but it lacks the punch that made those Gibson movies classics.
The film opens with Craven picking up his daughter at the train station. She’s a pretty young woman and clearly the most important thing in his life. Of course, she gets blown away in the first ten minutes. Of course, Craven explores her murder. Of course, she was entangled with left wing activists, weapons manufacturers, and corrupt government officials. Yet, none of these elements are adequately developed. Edge of Darkness wallows in complexities and feigns political acuity, but ultimately they just eat up time between beatings.
Courtesy imdb.com
It’s a shame that the plot is so uninspired, because Mel still has what it takes to carry a good action flick. He is as intense and dominating as ever and—provided you can look past the poor Boston accent—even provides some solid emotional scenes. He’s joined by the phenomenal Ray Winstone, playing a shady “security consultant” hired by a government official to stop Craven from uncovering the truth about his daughter. Winstone steals scenes with a quiet confidence that adds to his character’s mystery. Unfortunately, as with most elements of the film, these moments of greatness are never followed through to a satisfactory end.
Edge of Darkness is a sloppy neo-noir revenge flick with a floundering second act. The performances are solid, but aren’t enough to carry the film. But, it is nice to see Gibson kicking some ass again. Hopefully this is the beginning of the healing process, where we forget about Mel’s transgressions (bigotry, religious fanaticism, What Women Want), and welcome back our old friend Mad Max.
