Edge of Darkness

It’s one man show – Mel Gibson’s show!


The Story:


Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father. When his only child, 24-year-old Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But he soon suspects otherwise, and embarks on a mission to find out about his daughter’s secret life and her killing. His investigation leads him into a dangerous looking-glass world of corporate cover-ups, government collusion and murder — and to shadowy government operative Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) who has been sent in to clean up the evidence. Craven’s solitary search for answers about his daughter’s death transforms into an odyssey of emotional discovery and redemption.


Release Date: January 29, 2010 (wide)

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Icon Productions (non-USA)

Directed by: Martin Campbell (Golden Eye, The Mask of Zorro, Vertical Limit, The Legend of Zorro, Casino Royale)

Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts

Budget: $87,000,000

Gross Revenue: $17,214,384 (US) and $68,330,593 (worldwide)


Review:


After 2002 in We Were Soldiers and Signs, this was the first time Mel Gibson took another main role in a movie. Luckily for him, this movie was a one man show which very focused on the main character, Thomas Craven. This gave Mel Gibson opportunity to used all his charm to made this character alive.


Although this movie will make you thinking for almost the entire duration, the story itself was not so complex, and rather very chronological and predictable. The intensity also quite flat, and doesn’t get any better for the ending part.

Don’t expect a brutal and hardcore action, like you saw in Mel Gibson’s Lethal Weapon or Mad Max, because this film was more into drama/thriller genre. Although it won’t hurt if director Martin Campbell put a more tense car chase and dramatic ending.


So, this movie was all about character play. Mel Gibson is one of the best actor in Hollywood with his natural warmth and charisma, and he showed that one more time in Edge of Darkness. Another notable appearance was made by Ray Winstone as Darius Jedburgh. He managed to made a nothing-to-lose character which made us guessing in who’s side his on.


My Rating: C+

IMDb user rating: 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes meter: 54%

Metacritic: 55/100

Yahoo! critics: B-

Yahoo! users: B+