TheChez.net

by ssjrem

The advertising for Edge of Darkness seemed to bill it as a spiritual successor to last January’s surprise breakout hit, Liam Neeson’s Taken. Edge, a gritty action thriller released in January starring an older hero still capable of kicking ass would undoubtedly draw comparisons with Taken. However, Mel Gibson’s first starring role in over seven years isn’t nearly as fun, enjoyable or, dare I say it, believable as the Liam Neeson adventure.

Even without the obvious comparisons to Taken, it doesn’t exactly make Edge a more satisfying picture. For the sake of objectivity, I’ll try to steer clear of any further comparisons of the two, despite the somewhat similar ground covered. The similarities are actually rather superficial anyway, as the two films take drastically different approaches to what at first does seem like genuinely similar material.

Edge of Darkness is based on a British miniseries of the same name from 1985. Having never seen the original series nor having even heard of it before researching the movie, I can’t offer any comparisons between the two nor say how faithfully the film adapted the source material. However, from what I can gather, the original was both a critical and commercial success and was also well-timed to tap into a widespread fear concerning nuclear warfare. It was, after all, released during the Cold War.

Given its acclaim, I’d like to someday watch the original series because as a whole, Edge of Darkness didn’t impress me. The film tells the story of detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) and his quest to avenge the death of his daughter, Emma, played by Bojana Novakovic. Initially, the death seems to be accident in an effort to kill Thomas, his daughter just a victim of poor aim. However, as the story unravels, a grand conspiracy is uncovered that encompasses a far larger scale than one is intially expected to believe.

Gibson has spent quite a while away from appearing on the big screen and seems to have more or less regained his good will. I must confess that I’ve never seen The Passion of the Christ, so I can’t say if Gibson’s talents extend to behind the camera. Nonetheless, Gibson plays the role well and doesn’t seem to have lost a step in all the time that he’s been away. The script could use a little work at times, but Gibson does his best with the material and certainly doesn’t look intimidating; definitely not the type of man you’d want to cross after wronging. None of the other characters are given much screen time and more or less forgettable, with the notable exception of Ray Winstone as Matt Jedburgh. His delivery adds a little bit of color to some of the dialogue.

Within five minutes, Craven’s daughter has already been shot in cold blood. No time is given at all for character development. We see hardly any of the relationship between father and daughter, so it’s next to impossible to actually feel anything for Craven. The viewers haven’t been given a chance to connect. From then, the movie charts an uneasy path, seemingly with little pacing at all. Several scenes just feel forced or contrived and it seems like a bit more editing would have gone a long way.

I said I’d try to avoid comparisons, so forgive me for the following. Taken was a film that didn’t seem to take itself too seriously. It understood that at some basic level, its premise was somewhat ridiculous. But that didn’t stop from telling the basic story of a father’s tremendous love for his daughter. I don’t get the same vibe from Edge of Darkness. It actually seemed less believable to me than Taken, which I never expected. The gigantic, multi-level conspiracy that unfolds from the death of Craven’s daughter comes off as so utterly convoluted that it’s hard to swallow. I will say that Gibson’s Craven was certainly far more “human” than Neeson’s Brian Mills, but that makes some of the things he does all the more unbelievable. One escape scene late in the film that seems straight out of a Bond movie seems to stretch the suspension of disbelief too far.

Gibson is a likable lead and does his job well, as does Winstone. There’s an interesting story to tell here, but it just seems as though Taken did a better job, in part because it didn’t take itself as seriously. I’d imagine that the story would work much better as a miniseries, allowing more time to tell the story and to unfold this massive conspiracy. Compacting this gargantuan plot into two hours or so doesn’t do it justice. Edge of Darkness had a lot going for it, but color me disappointed.

Three Chezwicks.