Rich Bonaduce reviews “Edge of Darkness”
Rich’s Quickie: Not what you might expect; and that may not be a good thing… but it might!
Edginess: Mel Gibson is back and pissed off (and he hasn’t even been drinking), in this father-revenge flick. I expected a sort of Payback meets Taken (and I got it), but I didn’t know there’d be a dash of Silkwood.
And that was a good thing; at least at first. Mel actually is just a detective in way over his head after the murder of his own daughter. And even though he gets the bad guys in the end, it all actually gets the best of him, too, and THAT was also different for such an action-thriller hero. Mel’s in good form, and has some touching scenes with his daughter (played by Bojana Novakovic, both pre- and post-mortem which may hit some as cheesy), and there are some genuine shocks in this thriller to keep you thrilled.
Darkness: But that (forgive the reference), conspiracy theory delivers just as many yuks as it does jolts, and the deeper we get the less likely much of it seems. And unfortunately, it falls to Ray Winstone to deliver some throwaway line about “the darkness” that will probably make your eyes roll. But still, a better flick than I thought it was going to be, although it may not be quite the legacy Troy Kenned-Martin envisioned for his television series.
Movie Grade: C+
MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence and language.
Director: Martin Campbell
Writers: William Monahan (screenplay) and Andrew Bovell (screenplay), and Troy Kennedy-Martin (television series) (as Troy Kennedy Martin)
