Edge of Darkness Review

Martin Campbell's films have ranged from painfully awful (Legend of Zorro) to inspringly amazing (Casino Royale), and Edge of Darkness lands just in the middle. The factors needed to make this a great action film are there. They've got Mel Gibson, got the writer of The Departed, and got several brilliant technical credits to back them up. The problem primarily lies in the British miniseries which the film is based on. Also directed by Martin Campbell, the series was heavily influenced by fear of nuclear destruction at the time.

So if you put a storyline about nuclear weapons into a 21st century setting, it's going to feel out of place. Another thing that the film lacked was what was guaranteed by the trailer: Action. Regrettably the film just knocks on the door of becoming a full paced thrill ride, but it doesn't quite get there. Taken this isn't. Pretty much every action shot in the film is featured in the trailer. Not to say that the film fails in it's execution when an action scene does arise. All of the kill scenes, especially the murder of Craven's daughter, are violent and unforgiving, and I mean really violent. When the guy shoots Emma Craven, you see her catapult back with her guts flying everywhere.

Mel Gibson's performance is the best thing about the film. He carries the emotional weight of what happens to him through the screen. Ray Winstone is the only actor who holds own against Gibson, in his role as a government agent with an agenda of his own. The rest of the actors don't do truly exemplary work, but they are not nearly as awful as Danny Huston, who play the psychotic corporate dirtbag who's behind everything. He's not the sort of villain that you enjoy. He's the sort of villain that you don't care about what happens to him or what he does. You just hate him.

The script does it's best in redeeming the culturally irrelevent plot, and Campbell shows his experience in directing action after Casino Royale, washing away any doubt in his ability to bring to the screen the Green Lantern film coming out next year. Still I'd have to say that if you intend to see this film, it's best to wait until it's out on dvd. My grade for Edge of Darkness is B-.