For the last ten years or so Mel Gibson was the subject of many column inches for all the wrong reasons. Whether it was his heavily controversial but excellent The Passion of the Christ or the accusations of anti-Semitism, Mel Gibson the action hero and brilliant leading man has been out of view for quite a while...until now!
Gibson gets back to doing what he does best with this modern update of the 1980's BBC television series of the same name; here we get a glimpse of what a modern day Martin Riggs or Max Rockatansky (from Lethal Weapon and Mad Max respectively) might be like should Gibson reprise either role. Here he plays Thomas Craven, a Boston detective whose daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is killed before his own eyes while visiting him after taking some time off work. The nature of Emma's work is top secret and while initial reports suggest that her killing was an accident perpetrated by thugs with a grudge against her father, further investigation will point to the fact that her killing suggests a far greater mystery which leads all the way up to the higher echelons of power.
As Craven delves deeper into the mystery surrounding his daughter's brutal slaying he comes into contact with a variety of shady characters, from high powered businessmen, government officials, senators and some particularly nasty henchmen; most importantly however, he meets Matt Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a CIA operative whose job it is to cover up scandals which could lead back to Washington. Seeing a sort of kindred spirit in Craven's world-weariness, the two men share a level of both disdain and respect for each other. While it is Jedburgh's job to persuade him otherwise, Craven stops at nothing to uncover who killed his daughter and why and what really was the nature of her work.
Edge of Darkness was directed by Martin Campbell, something of a journeyman filmmaker who has directed some rather plodding blockbusters (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) and truly awful major studio stinkers (No Escape, Vertical Limit) but here he manages a nice mixture of intrigue and mystery with some bone-crunching violence. Like Campbell's Bond entries the film is expertly crafted but unlike those he thankfully keeps the action relatively brief and doesn't throw in too many mind-numbing scenes of unnecessary carnage or stunts, a fate which could have befallen this material in the hands of another director.
It was great to see Mel Gibson return to the hard man roles of his past, once again playing a taciturn man prone to instant and deadly force which recalls many of the actor's most famous roles. While the scenes of grieving are hardly Oscar worthy, there are genuinely poignant moments of tenderness in the film, mostly in flashback form.
The film can be predictable in places and suffers from a case of what I like to call “know the actor, know the outcome”, where you know that certain character actors only appear in certain movies in certain types of roles; I will go no further than that but my instincts where once again proven right. It's a pity because the storyline and the central mystery are genuinely interesting but the predictable nature of some of the casting rendered the outcome somewhat unsurprising.
VERDICT:Fans of the 80's TV version will no doubt know the secrets that are uncovered and the storyline inside-out but for newcomers this is an intriguing political thriller with a raw, violent edge and a welcome return to form for Mel Gibson.
Movie Trivia: Robert De Niro had originally been cast in the role of CIA crime-scene operative Darius Jedburgh, but dropped out due to 'creative differences' after spending a few days on the set.
Based on the hugely popular and multi-award-winning British TV miniseries "Edge of Darkness" (1985) written by Troy Kennedy-Martin and directed by Martin Campbell. In the original, Craven was played by Bob Peck and Darius Jedburgh was played by Joe Don Baker.
The movie marks the first time Mel Gibson has played the lead role in a film since Signs (2002).
John Corigliano was the first composer on the project and wrote a full complete score to the original cut of the film with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in London with the legendary conductor Leonard Slatkin conducting the music. When the film underwent re-shoots and the tone was changed to a more action driven film, Corgliano's score was then rejected as it did not fit the new version of the film. Howard Shore was then brought in by producer Graham King, who previously worked with Shore on The Departed (2006).
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