“It’s classified.”
Swift shot: Left me wanting more on every level, too much was shoved into the script – nothing really powerful ever happens, it was like firing hollow-points at a watermelon, sure it’s fun, but if you aren’t taking out bad-guys, so what? The exposition never really happened, and I understand this is a film based on a TV series, that explains why so much plot is cut out – just not enough time.
Edge of Darkness tells the highly complex story about a Boston detective who witnesses his daughter murdered on his front stoop. Was he the target, was she, is there international intrigue involved, is it the typical Hollywood cliche crap where the US government are evil manipulators of the masses? Guess which one it is? I won’t spoil it for you.
Mel Gibson is still one of my favorite actors, because I have yet to see him phone one in, the same is true with Edge of Darkness. I am sure after seeing the final cut he was disappointed in the overall product, but he has nothing to feel ashamed about – it was just too much crammed into such a short run time – much of the drama takes place in your imagination – and when you can’t dramatically connect with the characters (because all the good stuff is classified) your imagination isn’t enough.
The supporting cast all performed well; no one was firing blanks, but it just wasn’t something I would recommend to my friends – which really is what we always get asked “So, how was it?” Well, Edge of Darkness wasn’t great, and it wasn’t garbage – but it was convoluted and imprecise film-making. And, sadly, it was quite predictable, even though it presumed it wasn’t. The writers probably thought they were being interesting, but it came across as confusing more than anything else. Several characters were barely explained, and the overall package was overstuffed with nonsense instead of good juicy plot.
Rent this one when you are jonesin’ to watch Mel Gibson kick some ass and take names, but not if you are looking to be inspired, intrigued, or even remotely stirred. I wanted to like this one more; I just couldn’t connect – maybe you will have better luck.
Hi, thanks for commenting on my edge of darkness review. I really wrote a long reply there, since well- I loved the movie. So would love to have you back.
But in light of your review: I hadn't known about it being a tv-series until after I wrote my own review and frankly, I never felt something was missing. At first I thought it was going a bit slow, but then I realized it is because they meant it to be. I hope Mel wasn't disappointed about the final cut, I sure as hell wasn't. I loved the darkness and the intensity of it. I loved how it didn't have the typical ending but didn't end without giving you what you wanted. I loved the confrontation scenes, I loved how he approached the bad guys, and the boyfriend.
But of course I am big fan of hell-hath-no-fury-like a father scorned- type of movies.