Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winston, Danny Huston

Director: Martin Campbell

Screenwriters: William Monahan, Andrew Bovell; Troy Kennedy Martin (television series)

Mel Gibson has not made things easy for himself the past few years, and so it is with his ‘indiscretions’ in mind that his comeback flick has been approached with trepidation in some quarters, similar to the manner in which the man himself might approach Bar Mitzvahs or Civil Partnership ceremonies, perhaps. However, Edge of Darkness, a big screen remake of the BBC’s 80s nuclear conspiracy thriller series of the same name, is a solid return, but then it did have some rather sterling source material to draw from.

The versions old and new share only the basic premise of the plot, that of central character Detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) setting out to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting of his scientist daughter and subsequently unravelling a nuclear conspiracy en-route to finding the ultimate architects of her death. This new take on Kennedy Martin’s tale evolves in an entirely different way though to its predecessor, despite sharing a director in Martin Campbell, who forged his name in British TV before going on the direct Goldeneye and latterly Casino Royale. However, the most obvious stylistic influence upon Gibson’s film is that of executive producer Graham King, formerly of the hyper-violent modern epic The Departed, because Edge of Darkness utilises exactly the same mixture of slick violence and express storytelling with essentially every six minutes offering up a new plot twist or a vividly-portrayed shooting.

Gibson’s Craven also deviates on a lot of levels from Bob Peck’s original portrayal. He’s a gruff and brash cop or, to paraphrase the in-film description, he’s ‘the no nonsense type that doesn’t like Broadway musicals much.’ It is to Mel’s credit that he doesn’t overly exaggerate this unnecessary cinematic stereotype. He instead instills Craven with the sense of bitter shellshock that engulfs the character and cultivates the audiences’ sympathies, a departure from the desperate anguish of Peck’s Craven which verged towards the dark side of disturbing. A very honourable mention must also go to Ray Winston’s performance as the tired and belligerent mercenary Jedburgh, who provides a complete and comprehendible sub-plot despite having very little screen time.

Overall, the 2010 Edge of Darkness is an enjoyable success yet for entirely different reasons to those of its TV forebear.  It would be easy to lament the polished, occasionally clichéd, action style brought in to accentuate an engrossing story, especially since it comes at the expense of the political overtones, but it seems to be a Hollywood thing that secret service forces have to be near infallible, faceless, super human warriors. Though this shift from the political to the personal prevents it from being a ‘must see’, it is still a very good film and marks a fine return for Gibson.

By David Ellis

Edge of Darkness is out now courtesy of Icon.