Film Review: 'Edge of Darkness'

Sadly, the shock factor is lost by the conclusion of this film

> Edge of Darkness

Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Navakovic, Caterina Scorsone
Rating: (M) Mel Gibson.
3 stars (out of 5)

Reviewed by Christine Powley

Mel Gibson is such a huge star it comes as a surprise to realise that he has not actually been in a movie since Signs (2002).

He has been generating lots of press though.

Directing controversial flicks, drunken rants and chaos in his personal life have kept him firmly in the public eye.

Edge of Darkness (Hoyts) is based on the acclaimed British television drama from 1985.

Since the first version the world has changed but paranoid conspiracies now have a greater currency, not less.

Our increased lack of faith in the trustworthiness of our ruling classes should have worked in the movie's favour but the curse of American overstatement wrecking British style has done its work.

Gibson plays Thomas Craven, a veteran Boston cop whose semi-estranged daughter is killed.

Craven is determined to get to the bottom of his child's death.

He stumbles into a swamp of government cover-ups and corrupt big business.

As Craven bumbles his way from terrified friends of his daughter to ultra-smooth power brokers the death toll rises.

At first the deaths are shocking but by the final confrontation the shock factor is long gone.

Edge of Darkness is enjoyable in a stupid big movie kind of way but it is the sort of film you forget even as you are watching it.

Best thing: Ray Winstone with his cockney geezer act leavens the ultra seriousness of the rest of it.

Worst thing: With the menace dial set at 11 at all times it stops being even remotely plausible.

See it with: Nostalgia for the passing of the boofhead movie star. You can guarantee that none of the Twilight boys will be doing films like this at Mel's age and none of them will be brave enough to look Mel's age either.