EDGE OF DARKNESS

EDGE OF DARKNESS

So this is what January films could be like if Hollywood tried!

It seems hard to believe that Mel Gibson hasn't been in a starring role for seven years - since M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs". I guess with his 2006 DUI arrest and his subsequent anti-semitic tirade... I guess his agent thought he should lay low. Not a bad idea.

Now he comes in Martin Campbell's reworked feature film version of his 1985 miniseries "Edge of Darkness". I didn't see the miniseries as I tend to avoid those things. You know, you miss one episode and you're screwed! So this was new for me.

And may I say quite a refreshing ride.

"The Edge of Darkness" is good old fashioned little guy versus corrupt corporate America with a little blood and guts for added spice.

Gibson plays Craven, a Boston cop who is being visited by his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic). He is a widower and apparently did the single parenting thing with her as there are flashback references to their relationship (when she was a child) throughout the film. It is also clear that after she became an adult they were not as close - perhaps because she relocated out of state.

Emma has things on her mind that she wants to tell her dad, but that becomes moot when an assassin runs up to the Craven porch and puts a shotgun blast through her midsection. Initially it was assumed the target was Detective Craven and not his sweet innocent girl.

But things come to light that dictate that his sweet little girl wasn't so innocent.

It turns out she came upon some information about the company she worked for - Northmoor - was up to no good. Furthermore their shenanigans led to the death of three of her friends.

Now it is up to Craven to find out who is what and why. He does this with the uninvited assistance of a mysterious Brit named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone). Jedburgh is a private operative working for the government to make sure people don't find out who is what and why. He lurks in the shadows and is very well informed. [It should be noted that Robert DeNiro was initially cast as Jedburgh but quit the cast after having creative differences with Campbell.]

Working against Craven is, of course Northmoor's CEO Jack Bennet (Danny Huston) and initially two of his late daughter's friends. The friends more or less don't want to talk as they understand they will get what Emma got.

From there "Edge of Darkness" moves along at a predictable pace with few "aha" moments. Nevertheless, though it was predictable - for the most part - it was still entertaining and in some sense quite refreshing. Refreshing in that some things I predicted would happen, did happen exactly the way I would have done it. Especially one Monty Python-like 60-tons moment. Fans of the old Monty Python will undertsnd when they see the scene!

January and February are generally the months when the crap is released so it is nice to have an entertaining film with a decent storyline with good performances by all. Ray Winstone was predictably wonderful as Jedburgh - exactly the type of role with which he thrives. It was also nice to see Gibson back before he passed from our memories completely. --GEOFFREY BURTON

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