Edge Of Darkness: "Mel Gibson's Passion Of The Gun"

Mel Gibson is a troubled soul, what with all the booze and Jew-hating. I know there are people who can't separate art from the artist so me recommending Edge Of Darkness will no doubt fall on deaf ears. Edge of Darkness is a slow burn with sparse, dry dialogue. When characters weren't engaging in lengthy discussions on how to kill one another; the action that followed made up for 'meh' moments. The plot is simple and the supporting characters are majorly one-dimensional. Edge of Darkness competently tells a linear tale that many movies of various budgets could learn from. When Gibson is left to being an angry, self-loathing archetype, he is in his element.  

This isn't a review meant to convince you that Mel Gibson has returned to his roots. There is no comeback to echo, because Gibson doesn't have that deep of a quality resume to compare a work of this type [Go ahead pull Man Without A Face out of your butt]. Edge Of Darkness is an action movie -- a very entertaining action movie with thriller elements. I'd like to think that anyone could play Gibson's role, but this would be wrong. No matter my feelings on the Lethal Weapon star's personal views, Gibson as Thomas Craven works. Craven is a near-retirement ornery Boston police officer [and boy does that accent prove it]. He is divorced and has an estranged daughter -- so, pretty much standard American back story. After his daughter's death, Craven senses something amiss and pursues with the rage of a father and commitment of a law enforcer.

 

 

There is almost too little to say about Edge Of Darkness. Its a great linear movie, and occasionally the supporting cast does more than the story calls for. Ray Winstone, plays Jedburg, Craven's dirty-winged guardian angel. Jedburg and Craven's partner, Whitehouse [Jay Sanders] serve as my benchmarks of what you will like and hate about Edge Of Darkness. At a certain moment in the film Jedburg and Whitehouse have individual struggles. The separate moments for these characters are hammy and can be predictable.  Jedburg is seen as a consulting hit man who has health issues and is a bit long in the tooth for his profession. With a terminal illness on the table, Jedburg begins to see life for what it is [spoiler: it isn't about killing everyone]. With a looming tale of political espionage and corporate mismanagement of human life, Edge Of Darkness can feel like its doing too much.

 

The movie is smart -- too smart for its own good. Having a dastardly corporate bad guy with ties to a state senator makes the movie feel a step above the average action film. Given the almost two-hour length of the movie, the action is sparse, but poignantly executed. Martin Campbell, the director, does a great job turning his 1985 television show into a tension-filled full-length thriller.

I Give Edge Of Darkness

The "I'm Gonna Get You Your Legs Back" Award

Comments

[gerovital]

I always liked this actor. makes you smile and this is a high quality