Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic
Director: Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro)
Running Time: 1 hr 57 min
Release Date: Jan. 29, 2010
Budget: $80 million
Criticsf Thumbs Up: 53%
“Welcome back, Mel.” Lou Lumenick, New York Post
“Wow, does this movie suck!” Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Returning to the silver screen after an eight-year absence, Gibson gives a solid, intense performance as a veteran Boston detective whose 24-year-old daughter is shot to death right in front of him on his front porch. As Thomas Craven determinedly works to solve Emma’s (Novakovic) murder in this taut – and surprisingly violent – thriller, he uncovers her secret past involving her work with a nuclear cooperation that led to a corrupt governmental scheme. A few suspenseful and shocking moments arise occasionally, but the mystery is too shrouded and muddled to completely understand and, thus, fully appreciate. Instead, the themes of parental love and revenge are the reasons to see Edge of Darkness. Gibson deftly exudes consuming grief, but poignant scenes such as a flashback of a young Emma imitating her father shaving and a close-up of her blood circling down a sink drain and forever disappearing yield by far the most resonance.
