‘Darkness’ reveals unexpected thrills, suspense

Monday, February 1, 2010 - 2:12 AM

Mel Gibson seeks vengence for his daughter’s murder in “Edge of Darkness.” Photo by Warner Brothers Pictures.

The marketing campaign for Mel Gibson’s new police/political drama “Edge of Darkness” might lead viewers to expect an all-out revenge flick along the lines of the recent film “Taken.” Nothing could be further from the truth. “Edge of Darkness” instead unfolds at a very slow pace, building suspense and mystery instead of body bags.

The story follows local Boston detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson, his first starring role since “Signs”) as he searches for answers to the murder of his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic, “Drag Me to Hell”). At first the murder appears to be a failed assassination attempt on Craven, but as the solemn detective starts to discover the clues to his daughter’s death, things become much more complicated. It is here that “Edge of Darkness” transforms from another formulaic revenge story into a larger political thriller.

While the story arc may not play out as audiences might expect, this departure from typical action nonsense adds layers to the story. Mel Gibson is perfectly cast, and the scenes in which he remembers spending time with his daughter are heart-wrenchingly good. Instead of taking the shoot first, ask questions later approach, director Martin Campbell slows things down to almost a crawl. This is where “Darkness” might lose some people, but the movie asks the audience to be patient, rewarding them with excellent dialogue and thrilling action moments that strike at just the right moment. Detective Craven eventually runs into Jedburgh (Ray Winstone, “Fool’s Gold”), a man who walks the thin line of the clean-up man.

A lesser film would just use Jedburgh as the guy who is constantly trying to stop Craven from discovering more than he should, but “Darkness” goes past this, showing the moral difficulty of stopping a man from discovering who killed his daughter. The dynamic between Craven and Jedburgh make for some of the most interesting scenes in the film. Small things like this could have easily not worked so well, but the solid script keeps everything tight.

In fact, many of the cheesy one-liners that are teased in the trailers actually work. For example, take the line “Well you had better decide if you’re hanging on the cross, or banging in the nails:” In most movies that would play out as the cool thing the hero says before sending another baddie six feet under, but “Darkness” has the subtlety to say something goofy like that and make it sound legitimate.

If there is anything to complain about, it would have to be the difficulty of trying to keep up with the story through the midsection. Similar to the “Bourne” movies, tidbits of information are revealed slowly, and it can be frustrating to find out so little at a time. The pace of the film could also bore some audience members who come in expecting a more action packed experience. The wait is worth it, however, as the ending is surprisingly explosive, if not a little too brash in comparison to the rest of the film.

“Edge of Darkness” succeeds in bringing Mel Gibson back in a big way, but not in a way many people probably expected.

Garrett Estrada can be reached at gestrada@nevadasagebrush.com.