Dvd
Edge of Darkness
As homicide detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson, back from a seven yeur screen hiatus) investigates the death of his political-activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence. Directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), based on his own 1985 BBC mini-series.
Starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Shawn Roberts, Denis O'Hare
Directed by Martin Campbell ('Casino Royale', 'The Legend of Zorro', 'Vertical Limit', 'GoldenEye')
Thriller, Mystery, Drama | 1hr 57mins | Rated (R16) | contains violence & offensive language | Origin: USA | Official Site »
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Flicks review
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2
Edge of Darkness is a solid but underwhelming thriller. Mel Gibson is placed here as the action star, but I think Liam Neeson did a better job in Taken (also a father-daughter revenge flick). Mel has intensity about him but he’s chosen a rather mediocre vehicle for his first onscreen appearance in seven years.
Helmer Martin Campbell has a talent for staging action sequences (as evidenced in Casino Royale or GoldenEye) – too bad there aren’t many here. It’s mostly people talking to each other, or Mel punching their lights out when he gets frustrated.
Ray Winstone, as a mysterious hitman, is the most appealing character and the movie is fun to watch whenever he’s onscreen. Oddly, he doesn’t have too much to add to the narrative but show up every once in a while to quote some scholar or enjoy a glass of fine wine whilst waxing lyrical on the morals of crime.
The story is involving enough and the plot has a few twists and turns but the bad guys are obvious from the start and it’s not hard to work out where this is going. Thankfully the ending comes as a surprise, if a silly one.
Edge of Darkness feels like the cinematic equivalent of a novel you might read on a long-haul flight. It ties together in all the right places but you’re only reading it because you’ve got nothing else to do.
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The people's reviews
5 reviews
Press Reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Winstone's interaction with Gibson provides the movie with much of its interest. For the rest, it's a skillful exercise in CGI and standard-order thriller supplies.
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Empire (UK)
3
An uneven, somewhat meandering thriller is given emotional pull by Mel Gibson’s excellent comeback performance. The lethal weapon hasn’t lost it.
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Hollywood Reporter
An intense Mel Gibson performance anchors this brutally effective crime thriller.
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New York Times
Edge of Darkness is reasonably well executed, but its competence reeks of fatigue. Another dead kid. Another angry dad. Another day at the office.
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NZ Herald (Peter Calder)
3
The film certainly has its moments - most of them when Gibson, in his first feature-film role since 2002's Signs, brings out Mad Mel.
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Otago Daily Times (Christine Powley)
3
Sadly, the shock factor is lost by the conclusion of this film
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Rolling Stone (USA)
Gibson's acting has deepened. Too bad his comeback vehicle springs so many leaks.
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Total Film (UK)
3
Gibson proves he’s still not to be messed with in a film that reasserts him as a sturdy, if rather grizzled leading man. A pity, though, this required Campbell to cookie-cut his masterly ’80s TV series into a formulaic actioner.
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TV3 (Kate Rodger)
4
The squeamish beware, the R16 rating belts out some moments of hard fast brutal violence, this is not a film the whole family can enjoy. But even with my lily-liver I managed OK, and overall left feeling most satisfied indeed. Edge of Darkness won’t win awards, and it’s not a genre-defying boundary-breaker, but as far as conspiracy thrillers go, this one got my pulse-racing, my eyes glued to the screen, and was far more than I’d expected.
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Variety (USA)
Campbell's topnotch production team yields predictably polished results, but the director's decision to revisit the late Troy Kennedy Martin's teleplay, finally, feels lacking.
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