The first thing I would like to point out is that I am not part of the group of people who have completely went off Mel Gibson movies because of the recent bad press and rep he has been receiving, I do no think people deserve to be outcast so quickly just because we expect to be perfect.

That being said, I did enjoy one of his rare leading roles nowadays which do not involve talking vermin. Edge of Darkness is a gritty and in parts quite gruesome thriller about a man whose daughter is killed. Unfortunately, the film does not stick to the (IMHO) winning formula of film noir, keep it simple and focused but sometimes derails into politics and business mumbo-Jumbo. I can see how some people might enjoy the bigger scope and whole Wild West idea of one man sticking it to the man, but in this case, it just waters down the focus and density of the movie.

The cast is decent, Mel Gibson gives a great performance as usual and his age and worn down face only compliments his character. However, it is no new ground for him and the character could have been taken straight from the Lethal Weapon films, especially the revenge film where they kill his lover. Not a bad thing, stick to your guns, literally.

The rest of the cast is not very good and the film is really lacking an enigmatic villain, i prefer things to be more ambiguous and while the slimy Danny Huston works good as a villain it makes things a bit cheesy and black & white as we are all rooting for the hero to kick the villain’s ass, like in a Disney movie, but the film would have been more interesting with a person whose iridescent lure makes it more justified for him to be in such a powerful position.

The daughter of Gibson’s character is okay but the on screen chemistry is not very good and I did not buy his grief and love for her, I am not sure what Ray Winstone’s character is supposed to do in the film but he is kind of roving about aimlessly and plays himself, which is boring.

All in all, a solid thriller which is a bit more gory than you would expect and I welcome that but the story increasingly becomes a mess of politics and loyalty instead of focusing on the simpler side of things.