Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson’s return to the big screen in Edge of Darkness is more failure than success. The problems arise from a convoluted plot, stilted dialogue and uneven pacing. The movie’s premise is simple, Mel Gibson’s daughter Emma comes home for a visit and quickly becomes ill. As the two leave for the hospital, a hooded man shoots Emma dead. Mel Gibson then sets off to find those responsible for his daughter’s murder.

While the premise remains simple the ensuing plot and motives remain too convoluted to remain engaging, and neither are the characters fleshed out enough to care about. The villains are obvious and lack the charisma needed for us to root against them. Some scenes crackle with tension while others seem rehearsed. Most notable of these scenes are those between Gibson and Danny Huston’s corporate bigwig. Both actors seem bored reading the lazy dialogue, leaving the scenes without the antagonism the story demands. Huston’s plays his character without any panache, instead he portrays him as a man simply protecting his company and wallet. Mel Gibson gives Thomas the proper brooding and sympathy needed for the us to have a stake in his quest for vengeance, but the neither is Thomas particularly memorable.

Edge of Darkness also lacks the knowledge of what the movie wants to be about. The movie sets up as a revenge thriller, but also contains elements of corrupt government officials and takes a cynical stance on how our government operates. Yet, since these elements are not properly integrated or fleshed out, the audience is left more confused than intrigued. We are left without any clear understanding of Emma’s motives against her boss, and all the connections between the stories main players. Not helping matters are the lulls in action. Too much time is spent on Gibson imagining and communicating with his daughter as a young girl. While it might add sympathy for Thomas, it is also just plain boring.

The movie does hold a few pleasures, including Ray Winstone’s government operative Jedburgh. Winstone imbues in Jedburgh the right amount of mystery to keep him intriguing. He’s the character the government plot needs to keep it crackling; however, we see too little of his character. Additionally, many scenes are properly tense. These scenes involving Emma‘s boyfriend and friends have the right sense of dread for characters fearing their safety. As expected of a revenge thriller, we do get scenes where Gibson exacts his revenge on those responsible. These few action scenes are quick but also satisfying, something Campbell has proven he can handle in foray with Goldeneye and Casino Royale. If this much energy could have been integrated into the rest of the script the movie would have been much better. However, Campbell neglected the proper pacing to keep that tension throughout this rather bland revenge thriller.

Grade: C -

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