Edge of Darkness (2010, Campbell) -- Mel Gibson returns

[Groucho]

I saw the trailer for this last night, looks like conventional thriller, but Martin Campbell usually delivers a good flick. Mel Gibson is well cast as a guy...get this...out for revenge! It also stars Ray Winstone and Danny Huston.

Could be good. Apparently this is based on a 1985 BBC mini-series which I haven't seen.

The bad news is that this is coming out in January, which means the studio already thinks they have a stinker on their hands.

[Ash Ketchum]

I'm getting horrible flashbacks of RANSOM and PAYBACK. I'll pass on this one.

[MrSmearkase]

Caught the trailer tonight, looks pretty good. I'll definitely check it out.

Also, I don't necessarily think that a January release date is a death sentence. Winter is a good time of year for many films, and this looks like it could play well for a good run.

[The Bus]

I loved both Ransom and Payback. (at the time)

[The O]

The bad news is that this is coming out in January, which means the studio already thinks they have a stinker on their hands.

With films like CLOVERFIELD, TAKEN, and PAUL BLART doing bang up business (other titles too), January is now a big month.

[Bluelitespecial]

Saw the trailer last night as well, I am excited to see Mel acting again.

[scott1598]

4 and 1 at RT (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/edge_of_darkness/) thus far. i like Mel and hope this does well.

[Sessa17]

I'm getting horrible flashbacks of RANSOM and PAYBACK. I'll pass on this one.

Damn that sucks, Payback is by far my favorite film Gibson has ever done.

I much prefer Mel in these kinds of roles and Winstone is one of my favorite actors.

[TheNightFlier]

Damn that sucks, Payback is by far my favorite film Gibson has ever done.

I much prefer Mel in these kinds of roles and Winstone is one of my favorite actors.

He was great in Payback, imo.

I'm looking forward to this, even though I get a Taken vibe from it. It's good to see him back on the screen.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Seems like it's a Mel Gibson film w/ Martin Campbell at the helm. I mean..we all know how Campbell does things..so this flick? Very Campbell style minus the Bond element.

[AnonomusBob15]

Seems like it's a Mel Gibson film w/ Martin Campbell at the helm.

indeed

[RocShemp]

Looks like the movie Max Payne should have been. I also like that it seems to have more going on than just a conventional revenge story.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Fuck. Max Payne didn't need CG heavy scenery and whatnot. Damnit. I'm still pissed by how that got adapted so wrongly....though deep down I knew it'd be like that considering VG adaptations. Great Noir plot and characters only to get shredded into a movie that made no sense as to what actions the Lead Character does aka Max Payne. GAHHHH!

[RocShemp]

Fuck. Max Payne didn't need CG heavy scenery and whatnot. Damnit. I'm still pissed by how that got adapted so wrongly....though deep down I knew it'd be like that considering VG adaptations. Great Noir plot and characters only to get shredded into a movie that made no sense as to what actions the Lead Character does aka Max Payne. GAHHHH!

So I take it that we're in agreement?

I really liked the look and general noir feel of Max Payne. It just failed in the revenge and action departments. Also, though nice to look at, Mila Kunis was totally miscast as Mona Sax. Mila is cute. Femme fatales aren't cute.

[Daytripper]

Damn that sucks, Payback is by far my favorite film Gibson has ever done.

I much prefer Mel in these kinds of roles and Winstone is one of my favorite actors.

Re: "Payback".....I agree.

Ditto on Winstone. Save for his horrible performance in "Indy 4". Although I blame what he was given to work with for the most part. "Jonesy!" Ugh.

[maingon]

I think it looks like it could be pretty good.

[mcfly]

I have hopes for this one. I'll be catching it on Friday.

[Solid Snake PAC]

What? Would you like an explanation of that statement. Directing wise, he's still got steam. Acting wise...he can act, he just hasn't been in a film for a while.

[Gunde]

So will he (spoilered just in case...) kiss his daughters dildo like in the original?
Yeah probably not.

[matome]

Looking forward to this

[Rad14]

[QUOTE=Groucho;9817771]
Could be good. Apparently this is based on a 1985 BBC mini-series which I haven't seen
[QUOTE]

I saw that series in 1985. BIG hit on TV and was repeated a couple of times. Starred the late Bob Peck (the gamekeeper in Jurassic Park), Joanne Whalley as his daughter and Joe Don Baker as the renegade CIA guy. Became a cult in the UK.

[Michael Corvin]

I saw that series in 1985. BIG hit on TV and was repeated a couple of times. Starred the late Bob Peck (the gamekeeper in Jurassic Park)

I only know him from JP, but he was damn memorable in the role. I had no idea he passed. He was young. Interesting tidbit on Wiki (if true):

Peck died of cancer on 4 April 1999 in London, upon his deathbed, Peck was quoted saying "clever girl..." He then passed away in the presense of friends and family[2] at the age of 53 after fighting the illness for several years.

[Solid Snake PAC]

I only know him from JP, but he was damn memorable in the roll.

Really good at that role. Is the series available in R1? I'd like to see it.

[KillerCannibal]

Bad Boston accent aside, I think this looks like it'll be a fun ride. I like Mel, and a movie featuring him kicking ass directed by Campbell and written by Monaghan sounds like a great combo to me.

[Charlie Goose]

Count me among those that loved Payback, but this one doesn't really seem anything like that in terms of style. I'd like to see it, I'm glad Gibson is starring again.

[meritocracy]

Really good at that role. Is the series available in R1? I'd like to see it.
Yes, it was finally released in the US late last year.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Sooooo buying it.

BUT before I do...How was the transfer on DVD in R1 btw? Good DVD set overall?

[Jaymole]

Mel Gibson has not aged well...must be all the alcohol and anti-semitism:)

[Jaymole]

Sooooo buying it.

BUT before I do...How was the transfer on DVD in R1 btw? Good DVD set overall?

I usually avoid BBC Region 1 DVDs as they have a tendency to not convert them correctly from PAL to NTSC. The one review I saw of the region 1 DVD says the transfer is so-so, but that may be because of the source material.

I recently picked up the UK Region 2 DVD for around $10, so if you have a multi-region player, that is the way to go.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Mel Gibson has not aged well...must be all the alcohol and anti-semitism:)

Looks fine to me. He's aged a lot better than Pesci for example.

[Geofferson]

Saw him on Leno last night and Mel looked pretty good. :shrug:

[RocShemp]

Hopefully this does well enough to renew studios' interest in Fury Road.

[Indy Jones Fan]

Mel Gibson has not aged well...must be all the alcohol and anti-semitism:)
I know your statement was some what tounge in cheek but I have to agree, Mel looks very weathered for a man that just turned 54. He looked older, with respect to their actual age, than Harrison Ford (67) does in Extraordinary Measures.

Having said that, the movie was really good and it was great to see Mel back on the big screen.

[Rypro 525]

speaking of Ford, anyone see him on Kimmel last night? he was very slow, and looked out of it

[RocShemp]

speaking of Ford, anyone see him on Kimmel last night? he was very slow, and looked out of it

Isn't that standard for all his talk show interviews?

[JumpCutz]

speaking of Ford, anyone see him on Kimmel last night? he was very slow, and looked out of it

He's an enormous pothead, so maybe he was stoned. As per the usual...


And yeah Mel Gibson looks like a piece of leather.

[droidguy1119]

I think Mel looks fine. The movie sucks, though. Review will be up Thursday night.

The gist of it is, they made a political thriller and then someone at Warner turned it into Taken 2 against its will, and the scuffle is obvious. At first I thought it was okay, but my opinion has steadily dropped all through today.

[Numanoid]

Gibson is a heavy smoker, which tends to age people and give them that leathery look.

[Ash Ketchum]

Armond White gives it a favorable review in New York Press.

Here's the link:

http://www.nypress.com/article-20843-power-and-passion.html

He makes it sound like something I want to see.

And, yes, I would have liked TAKEN a lot more if Mel Gibson had played the role.

I love White's first paragraph, which is certain to infuriate most of you reading this:

"Back onscreen in Edge of Darkness, after a seven-year absence, Mel Gibson looks like hell. He’s certainly been through it—enduring the worst public vilification since Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson. But he’s still quite a good actor and brings a believably gruff, on-edge solidity to his role as Irish Boston cop Thomas Craven, who is searching for his daughter’s killer. He’s more believable than Sean Penn’s flamboyant grieving father turn in Mystic River. Had Gibson played Jack Nicholson’s role in The Departed the film might have achieved the authenticity that was lost to Scorsese’s lowlife fantasizing. Gibson roots Craven in credible middle-aged fatigue as if to prove he’s a truer artist than his haters claim."

I don't know what to make of the comparison with O.J. and MJ, but I agree with him on MYSTIC RIVER and THE DEPARTED.

[RichC2]

From Kimmel last night:

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xy3ChuarBr0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xy3ChuarBr0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

:lol:

[Solid Snake PAC]

He looks fine to me.

[droidguy1119]

And, yes, I would have liked TAKEN a lot more if Mel Gibson had played the role.Well, for what it's worth, the point is that it ISN'T Taken and that WB has done a poor job of refashioning it into something that kind of resembles Taken. 75% is a slow-boil conspiracy thriller, 25% of it is vigilante revenge. And the conspiracy thriller is the much better movie.

Also, Armond White is a notorious contrarian troll.

[scott1598]

he also just said he recently quit smoking.

[Ash Ketchum]

Well, for what it's worth, the point is that it ISN'T Taken and that WB has done a poor job of refashioning it into something that kind of resembles Taken. 75% is a slow-boil conspiracy thriller, 25% of it is vigilante revenge. And the conspiracy thriller is the much better movie.

Also, Armond White is a notorious contrarian troll.

I would prefer the 100% conspiracy thriller myself.

As for White, I'll have you know, he's an established critic who's been reviewing films for about 30 years now. I've been reading him, off and on, for most of that time. He was the regular reviewer at the City Sun, a weekly Brooklyn newspaper (pre-internet) before it went under. He's written for Film Comment and other publications and he's been the regular reviewer for New York Press, a weekly newspaper, for about 15 years now. That hardly matches the definition of a "troll." Contrarian, maybe, but so what? In a masscult brainwashed populace like we have today, contrarians are often the only ones who see the truth.

[Solid Snake PAC]

I don't agree w/ you, sorry. I'd elaborate but I will do so tomorrow.

[Dr. DVD]

I don't know whether I will see this or From Paris With Love when it opens next week. Paris looks to have more action in it, and anything with Luc Besson involved will be entertaining. But I have long wanted to see Mel Gibson in a movie again.

[Solid Snake PAC]

watch them both.

[droidguy1119]

As for White, I'll have you know, he's an established critic who's been reviewing films for about 30 years now. I've been reading him, off and on, for most of that time. He was the regular reviewer at the City Sun, a weekly Brooklyn newspaper (pre-internet) before it went under. He's written for Film Comment and other publications and he's been the regular reviewer for New York Press, a weekly newspaper, for about 15 years now. That hardly matches the definition of a "troll." Contrarian, maybe, but so what? In a masscult brainwashed populace like we have today, contrarians are often the only ones who see the truth.The thing that makes him a troll is that he, almost like clockwork, for some truly harebrained reasons, goes against the grain on almost every single movie released, no matter how mild or unanimous the consensus. To find a movie where Armond agrees with the majority, even partially, is to find a needle in a haystack. You can look at his Rotten Tomatoes profile and see how his Tomatoes are literally the opposite on around 97% of the movies released in any given period, if not more.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but he compared Speed Racer to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I think he's got a screw loose.

Anyway, here's my review: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/41912/edge-of-darkness-2010/

[JumpCutz]

Nice review droid. :thumbsup:

[Jaymole]

As for White, I'll have you know, he's an established critic who's been reviewing films for about 30 years now. I've been reading him, off and on, for most of that time. He was the regular reviewer at the City Sun, a weekly Brooklyn newspaper (pre-internet) before it went under. He's written for Film Comment and other publications and he's been the regular reviewer for New York Press, a weekly newspaper, for about 15 years now. That hardly matches the definition of a "troll." Contrarian, maybe, but so what? In a masscult brainwashed populace like we have today, contrarians are often the only ones who see the truth.


You are the first person I know who reads his review regularly. I have no problem with his going against the grain... it's the reasons for doing so that bother me, plus the fact that it is a torture to read his ramblings. I may not agree quite a bit with Roger Ebert on his liking or disliking a film, but he still is an interesting read and gives me new insights about the film....Armond White gives me nothing but frustration & exasperation.

But to each his own.

[clappj]

Give me back my daughter!

[Ropes Pierre]

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, sugar tits. skills I have acquired over a very long career, exposing the vast Jewish conspiracy. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you (and the Jews). If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you. and then I will make a really violent movie about it, showing how the Jews were really responsible. Oh, by the way, anyone want to buy some nails?

[The O]

Give me back my daughter!


In this film...

That's not really possible.

[Dr. DVD]

Both USA Today and Peter Travers from Rolling Stone gave this positive notices, and I typically agree with their opinions, so I might have to check this out afterall.

[Osiris3657]

I thought it was excellent, the first grade A movie of the year. Mel is back!

[Osiris3657]

In this film...

That's not really possible.

it clearly shows in the trailers that she dies. No spoiler there.

[toddly6666]

Awesome movie from Martin Campbell. Mel Gibson is great. I don't care that he's an anti-semite, he makes and stars in great movies.

Martin Campbell is the resurrector. He brought James Bond back to the limelight twice, and he's resurrected Mel Gibson's acting career.

[Dr. DVD]

Saw it. Entertaining overall, but a bit drawn out. I just don't understand

if they intended for him to go on a kill crazy rampage at the end and take out everyone at the end, why not just have it be that way from the get go? That bit seemed tacked on solely for the purpose of seeing Mel Gibson in bad ass mode.

I will say that Ray Winstone= bad a$$ .

[Patman]

Mel Gibson returns to the big screen in "Edge of Darkness", a dramatic thriller that follows Tom Craven, a Boston police detective, on the hunt to find who killed his daughter. Unfortunately, with the exception of some truly dramatic turns (that are implausibly timed, I'm afraid), the rest of the film never catches fire, and the script seems to short-shrift the set-up of the mystery behind the death, with scenes that just leave you scratching your head. Whatever intense bits you've seen in the ads and trailers, well, the rest is predominantly low-boil material.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

[toddly6666]

The only thing I didn't like in the film was not being able to understand what Ray Winstone was muttering. I wish I had subtitles for his lines.

[Solid Snake PAC]

The only thing I didn't like in the film was not being able to understand what Ray Winstone was muttering. I wish I had subtitles for his lines.

Don't tell Ray Winstone that.

[cdollaz]

I thought it was kinda slow.

[DJariya]

I saw it this afternoon and thought it was a good return for Mel. Can't believe it's been 8 years since his last lead role in a major film.

I was a little disappointed that the movie wasn't really a murder/mystery, but instead:

A crusade by Craven's daughter Emma and later Craven to stop the evil corporation from producing weapons on U.S. soil.

One question I have about Craven near the end of the film:

How was he poisoned? I don't know if I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I saw he discovered that his daughter's milk bottle had high levels of radiation, but when did he get contaminated? Also, so his buddy in the force also worked for that evil corporation as well?

The ending was a little too sappy, but it was good to see Mel back in an action-oriented role. I would probably give this a B-. I have to wonder if Campbell shot an alternate ending.

[FantasticVSDoom]

Too many starts and stops for me... Just never got going. Every time I thought it would get going, just fell flat.

[DJariya]

I didn't think it was necessary for Mel to speak with the over the top "Bostonian" accent. Do people in Boston actually speak that way with the weird annunciations?

[FantasticVSDoom]

I didn't think it was necessary for Mel to speak with the over the top "Bostonian" accent. Do people in Boston actually speak that way with the weird annunciations?

I actually thought he did a great job with his accent as he sounded exactly like my brother in law who is from Mass... It was actually kind of creepy how much he sounded like him.

[ScissorPuppy]

One question I have about Craven near the end of the film:

How was he poisoned? I don't know if I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I saw he discovered that his daughter's milk bottle had high levels of radiation, but when did he get contaminated? Also, so his buddy in the force also worked for that evil corporation as well?
.

I asked the same question on a different forum. The answer I got was that is the original script his toothpaste was contaminated. I don't think his buddy was necessarily working for the corp, just that they threatened his family and he planted the toothpaste in Craven's house.

[RocShemp]

So did they have the Craven turning into flowers ending and Craven kissing his daughter's vibrator scene from the BBC mini-series?

[DJariya]

No and are you actually serious? That sounds stupid.

[RocShemp]

No and are you actually serious? That sounds stupid.

Yes, I'm being quite serious. Her ghost sorta guides him in the series and there's this incestuous vibe between them throughout. There's a review here about the series that goes in great detail about it and other things.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Yeah, I asked about the series and somebody brought that up. I well...I never asked more about it. I almost want to say Suprmallet was the one that said it. I could be wrong.

[KillerCannibal]

This wasn't what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. The combination of Boston accents and Winstone's hushed mumbles defnitely left my gf and I scratching our heads during a few scenes. I think I expected them to ratchet up the action a bit more, so the whole political angle threw me for a loop. It was certainly smart, though. I expected something closer to Taken, I think. I liked that the move made you think. Not everything was clearly spelled out for viewers, which is something I really appreciated.


One question I have about Craven near the end of the film:

How was he poisoned? I don't know if I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I saw he discovered that his daughter's milk bottle had high levels of radiation, but when did he get contaminated? Also, so his buddy in the force also worked for that evil corporation as well?


I wondered that too. My gf pointed out that the milk that was poisoned was also the same milk that Mel used to make mashed potatoes earlier in the film.

[sleepyhead55]

This wasn't what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. The combination of Boston accents and Winstone's hushed mumbles defnitely left my gf and I scratching our heads during a few scenes. I think I expected them to ratchet up the action a bit more, so the whole political angle threw me for a loop. It was certainly smart, though. I expected something closer to Taken, I think. I liked that the move made you think. Not everything was clearly spelled out for viewers, which is something I really appreciated.



I wondered that too. My gf pointed out that the milk that was poisoned was also the same milk that Mel used to make mashed potatoes earlier in the film.

Saw this yesterday and enjoyed it as well.

Was that in the beginning of the film? I don't recall that scene. I'm pretty sure he didn't drink anything at his daughter's apartment.

[KillerCannibal]

^ Yes, it was right when she got in and he was making dinner.

[droidguy1119]

The businessmen also say to each other that the poison was strong enough to have affected Thomas through Emma, but it's hard to tell if they were being sinister (i.e. practicing their lie for the press for when Thomas turns up dead) or serious.

[Solid Snake PAC]

/discusssing this film with a friend and the matter of exactly how 'TC' was poisoned came up. did we actually see the character consuming tainted food of was it simply by contact with another character?/ [SPOILER]

To spoil you do this: blay lfajsdlfajds ;fsd [/spoiler ] except on that end spoiler please put the r and ] together to make this:

[spoiler] a;lsjdf;asldkfj;asldkfj blah wyaasdlf

[Ash Ketchum]

I was thinking of seeing this, but the Boston accents are a deal-killer for me. I don't need two hours of chalk screeching on a blackboard.

Once upon a time there was a perfectly entertaining police thriller about Boston cops called FUZZ (1972) that starred Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Yul Brynner, Tom Skerritt and a bunch of great character actors and, as I recall, not a single one of them bothered with a Boston accent. And no one expected them to either.

[Solid Snake PAC]

Funny, I don't mind the accents. I like that fact more that they did it but I've yet to see it so I dunno if it's any good regardless.

[jjackal]

To spoil you do this: blay lfajsdlfajds ;fsd [/spoiler ] except on that end spoiler please put the r and ] together to make this:

[spoiler] a;lsjdf;asldkfj;asldkfj blah wyaasdlf

Thanks for trying to help - I thought I did the spoiler correctly and then did an edit with your tip but it still did not work?? here is what I did : I used the icon before my comment and after, plus adding the / mark. I am not sure what you meant by putting the r and ] together, there was no space between them when I did it. This was my first post and the instructions said to use the icon before and after and add the / in the ending spoiler icon. what am I missing here? thanks!!

[EdTheRipper]

Saw this tonight. Not what I was expecting but still a decent flick overall.