Theatrical Review: EDGE OF DARKNESS

Rating: 4/10

Writers: William Monahan, Andrew Bovell
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic
Studio: Warner Bros.

I feel like I was one of the only people excited about EDGE OF DARKNESS after seeing the film’s trailer. Martin Campbell blew me away with CASINO ROYALE, so I was almost automatically excited for this film. Not to mention that I actually like Mel Gibson as an actor, and was anxious to see him in a new film. From the trailer, the film looked like an action-packed thrill ride, but it was actually quite the opposite.

EDGE OF DARKNESS actually didn’t have that much action in it. The very little action it had was incredibly well-done and extremely bad-ass, however. The opening scene was extremely intense, and got me excited for an adventure that didn’t happen. The lack of action dramatically hurts the movie overall, simply because the rest is extremely boring. I find it really interesting that the guy who made the boring parts of CASINO ROYALE so exciting, made the boring parts of EDGE OF DARKNESS so boring.

I think that the main reason the film feels this way is because the action sequences aren’t evenly laid out throughout the film. If the film would have had an action break every now and then in between all the long sequences of insipid story, it honestly could have been a pretty decent movie. Instead, they tried to make the film a lot more then I really think it should have been by adding endless amounts of exposition.

The movie was overly ambitious, and was trying to be a suspense, thriller, and mystery type of film. The main problem with that attempt is that the film is so easy to figure out. As soon as his daughter’s job is revealed, the mystery goes out the window because it was overly obvious. The worst part is that it happened in the first quarter of the film, making the rest feel really pointless.

The other problem I had with the film was the choice of how to portray Mel Gibson’s character’s grieving. One reason it doesn’t really work out is because it seems they couldn’t decide how to handle it. A couple of times it seems like his daughter is actually there with him and speaks to him, other times they make it more like a flashback or a memory. The inconsistency makes it feel really ridiculous, and the only time I feel it worked was when it was a true flashback.

Aside from all the inherent problems that this film has, there is some really good stuff here. I was spellbound by Mel Gibson in this film. He proves that he has still got it, and it hasn’t gone bad at all. I can’t wait to see him back to acting in a much fuller capacity (and a better movie). Actually, I left the theater speaking about how much this movie made me long for a LETHAL WEAPON 5. Sadly, I’m not sure the audience shared the same experience as me, because often the audience would start laughing at his more intense scenes.

EDGE OF DARKNESS certainly isn’t an awful film, and I genuinely think there is a market for it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t handle the magnitude of the film in a successful manner. If there is anything to take away from this film, it is that Mel Gibson is still really awesome.