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I've always liked to think of Mel Gibson as a crazy uncle who makes inappropriate comments about Grandma's cleavage and still says things like "colored folk" and "the gays." It doesn't matter if he's bat-shit insane or just a prick, I can't help but love him. My favorite wacky Uncle Mel moment: When asked about criticism from GLAAD concerning homophobic comments he made in the early '90s, Gibson responded to his interviewer, "I'll apologize when hell freezes over. They can fuck off." You can be offended by his ignorance if you'd like, but it's hard not to take note of the balls on this guy. Maybe it's even those hateful, fury-filled balls that make Gibson such a magnetic force on the big screen.

Even if you don't have a soft spot for Gibson, it's hard to deny that the short-fused Aussie can act. Unfortunately, Edge of Darkness isn't the best vessel for his talents.

Sex toys, buckets of blood, and Liam Neeson after the jump.
Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) directs this adaptation of a BBC miniseries from the '80s (which he also directed), and the basic setup from the original remains intact. When homicide detective Thomas Craven's (Gibson) only daughter is murdered in front of him, everyone believes he was the intended target. Craven begins to suspect otherwise and attempts to uncover the truth behind his daughter’s murder, finding himself on a solo mission for revenge against some very powerful people. 

The premise and direction from Campbell (as well as a deceptive trailer with snippets like: "This is someone armed and dangerous." "What do you think I am?") may lead you to expect a Taken-style thrill ride with Gibson as ass-kicking dad à la Liam Neeson. In reality, there's more talking than fighting in this flick, and, when the fights happen, the outcomes are often too realistic to cheer about. There are some "yeah!"-inducing moments as Gibson extracts his revenge, but after the payback you're left with a corpse and a dirty feeling. Watching a man bleed to death out of a gunshot wound to the neck for 15 seconds doesn't do it for me as a viewer, whether the bad guy had it coming or not.

Even these bloodbaths are few and far between. Where Casino Royale's parkour and punching was only briefly interrupted for a few slower-paced minutes of poker playing, Edge of Darkness serves up a glut of dull moments and plenty of shots of Gibson's emotionless frown with only a few action sequences to speed things up. When all is revealed, the ending is unsatisfying, but it could have been worse: The original story from the miniseries was supposed to conclude with Craven turning into a tree. 

There are few nods to the BBC version throughout, but the environmental message of the original is mostly missing from the film version. Also (thankfully) absent is the scene of Craven kissing his dead daughter's vibrator.

This is Gibson's first leading role since 2002's Signs and We Were Soldiers, and though he doesn't get a chance to flex his skills much in Edge of Darkness, he seems to not have lost his touch.

Edge of Darkness is a run-of-the-mill revenge tale with buckets of blood; a thriller with too much talk and not enough thrills.

--Eric Pulsifer
 


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