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Rating: Country: U.S.A. Release Date: January 29, 2010 Distributor: Warner Brothers Director: · Martin Campbell Cast: · Mel Gibson · Ray Winstone · Danny Huston · Bojana Novakovic · Shawn Roberts · David Aaron Baker · Jay O. Sanders Related Sites: · Official Web Site · IMDB: Edge of Darkness Grade: B+

Tom Craven is a Boston police detective. His daughter, Emma, has returned home to take a little break from her job, seemingly. As Tom and Emma start to reconnect at their home, Emma begins to cough up blood. Tom is ready to rush her to the hospital and as they walk out the front door, a mysterious gunman yells the name "Craven!" and fires at them, killing Emma almost immediately. Boston PD is right on this and they believe it to be someone who has a grudge against Tom Craven. But Tom has his own thoughts on the matter and starts his own investigation leading to a secret life he didn't know his daughter had, and her job -- with it's own equally huge ramifications.

"Edge of Darkness" is the newest film from veteran director Martin Campbell and star Mel Gibson and it's of special note for Gibson because it's his first leading role in eight years. It's also a pretty darn good little movie.

Previously, "Edge of Darkness" was a television mini-series (that Campbell also directed), which unfortunately, I haven't seen so I can't compare the film to that. What's here though is pretty tight, though Campbell is willing to relax his pace and let it unfold fairly naturally. It's a pretty dialogue-heavy piece, but it also features its fair share of action -- and when that action is used, it's pretty effective, in particular with a scene where Craven meets with a friend of his daughter's out on a country road.

It's a pretty familiar idea for a movie; there's really nothing here that you haven't seen before, but that can be said for the vast majority of movies that come out now. That's fine, I know that it's a rare thing to find something that's totally original out there, and it really doesn't matter to me as long as the parts are all put together in an interesting and compelling way. "Edge of Darkness" does that.

I've been a big fan of Gibson's ever since "The Road Warrior" (I didn't see "Mad Max" until later), and for me, he doesn't disappoint. He manages to play a man with nothing to lose quite well, but all along there's still a mind at work in the part. I hope its not another eight years before we see him again on screen. He's got some impressive support here, with Ray Winstone playing a government "fixer" named Jedburgh, who, even though he finds himself at some odds with Craven, also has empathy for what he's doing. Danny Huston is one of the better actors who excels at playing villains these days, and he does just as well as the head of Northmoor, the company for which Emma Craven worked. Bojana Novakovic plays Emma Craven, and though she's here real briefly, she and Gibson do a solid job in establishing a father-daughter relationship.

"Edge of Darkness" doesn't really do anything new, but it doesn't do anything wrong either. It presents a relaxed paced thriller and a welcome return to the big-screen for lead actor Mel Gibson, who shows that he's still as engaging a leading man as he's ever been, though a few years older. It's certainly worth seeing, if not in a theatre then at least in its home video release.