I don’t give a shit what type of insanity Mel Gibson has been up to over the last ten years; I love watching him beat the hell out of people in a search for justice. Edge of Darkness is exactly the movie I will always enjoy no matter how many variations of it that I see.
Did we just see Taken a year ago? Yes. Does this follow nearly the exact same blueprint? Yes. Do I care? Hecks no. The protagonist is wronged in some unforgivable manner and in return annihilates everything in their path until they are satisfied or dead or both. The violence here wasn’t over the top; there wasn’t any scenes where Mel takes on an entire clan of ninjas just solid one on one fights. Well Mel did take a car on mano y auto and won but that was awesome. In fact most of the violence was sudden and memorable. The climatic scenes included execution after execution all with their own little quirk. It was all very satisfying in a pure adrenaline rush way.
The main thing Edge of Darkness brought to the table was a trio of actors that made every scene worthwhile. Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, and Danny Huston fit perfectly into their characters. Mel as the vengeful dad; Winstone as the government cleaner; and Huston as the shady businessman. I'm still debating if this would have been better if Mel screamed "GIVE ME BACK ME SON er DAUGHTER!" Needless to say I was waiting for it. All of the scenes between Gibson and Winstone had slick dialogue because they played off each other perfectly. And Huston has become the go-to guy when you need a believable villain who portrays a hidden agenda just by the way he speaks.
I can't wait till Edge of Darkness shows up on cable. It will definitely be one of those movies that I watch every single time its on. Hopefully this turns into a return to form for Mel as an actor.
8 out of 10
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