Edge of Darkness

Based on the television series of the same name, Edge of Darkness is a return to the screen both of this particular story, and of a particularly reclusive actor as of late, Mel Gibson. Mel’s return is also Martin Campbell’s return to the story, as he also directed the TV series back in the 1980′s. Reminiscent of Taken, Edge of Darkness delivers on its promises: action, suspense, an entertaining and involving story, and, most importantly, Mel’s return to this side of the camera.

A Boston cop, Thomas Craven (Mel), is enjoying having his daughter home, whom he hasn’t spent much time with since she left for MIT. When she begins to show volatile signs of sickness, they head to the car. But their trip is cut short. Craven is forced to deal with the gruesome loss of his daughter while seeking out the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. His hunt quickly leads him down an unforeseen trail, developing into an altogether different mystery than he had ever imagined. An untold number of bodies, slippery government officials, and one man with nothing to lose.

This film is fairly riveting from start to finish. Campbell (Casino Royale) knows how build suspense and intrigue, and, wielding a story he knows inside and out, deftly creates a very entertaining movie. Gibson brings himself to the film, and we soon find out that that’s more than enough. He’s a capable actor with years of experience, and this film allows him to return to the screen with everything we’ve come to love about him, a strong voice, an evasive charm, and a powerful, reckoning presence.

Gibson is by far the most enjoyable performance, but the supporting cast also do quite well: Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Jay Sanders, Denis O’Hare. Possibly unfamiliar names, but faces we certainly recognize, these actors do a more than adequate job. Winstone, in particular, plays an unequivocally equivocal character, Jedburgh, a man whose life has been spent not only riding the fence, but serving both sides equally, a middle man and a mole simultaneously, and he plays him deftly. All the characters lead duplicitous lives, which eventually unravel into an “unsurvivable” nightmare, and Craven is there to make sure it stays that way.

Edge of Darkness doesn’t try to be this year’s Taken, and it doesn’t need to. This film is a competent suspense film, with a capable cast, a confident director, and a leading man who is more than comfortable getting back in the saddle. Suspenseful films don’t need to be perfect to be entertaining, and this one is certainly a case in point. It’s often messy, the characters seem a bit two-dimensional, the writing is laughably overwrought at times, and there are loose ends that dangle even as the credits roll, but, despite all this, it succeeds. If you’re looking for an engaging suspense film, this one is almost certain to satisfy.

Rating: 2.5/4 Stars