Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson’s return to the screen has him in the familiar angry mode. He plays a cop whose daughter is gunned down in front of him. At first the crime is seen as an attempt on his life, but an investigation slowly reveals some silliness involving a nuclear arms producer and their evil cover-up. Gibson is fine here, although his Boston accent grates on the ears at times. Directed by Martin Campbell, he does just about as much as he can with the goofy plot. If you’re a fan of Mel Gibson in super pissed-off mode, you’ll probably like this. It’s pretty much Payback with a nuclear twist. Gibson can tense up with the best of them, and the fact that his face now looks like a worn out baseball glove contributes to his external pain. Seriously, the man has some major, leathery grooves in his forehead thanks to all that smoking. I would’ve much rather Gibson returned to the screen in Mad Max 4 instead of this.