Genres

Visitors Review

2013-05-16 20:49:26

An above-par, if not perfect, thriller.

Thomas Craven is a Boston cop. He has enemies. So when a gunman shows up at his door and kills his daughter, Craven automatically thinks they were gunning for him. But were they? Why was his daughter so sick? Why had she suddenly decided to come home? Why was she carrying a gun? And just what was her job at the Northmoor weapons manufacturing company?Say what you want about the man; Mel Gibson, as an actor and director, is nearly unequaled. When he wants, he can sink his teeth into a role and never give up--and he wants to here. Gibson breathes life into Craven, making him a sympathetic, flawed hero. Ray Winstone, as a mysterious British special op, is also dynamite (as always). Danny Houston makes a great villain, even though he doesn't have much to work with.And that is the main flaw of the film: it's forced at times, and this leads to a plot that just don't seem to make much sense (or make its audience care). I haven't seen the original miniseries; I'm guessing the problems here are condensing a longer, complicated plot into one 2-hour experience. It just doesn't always fit; this is far from William Monahan's best script, and it's certainly not Martin Campbell's best directing effort. Yet, the film IS a step or two above the usual thrillers of its type, mainly because of Gibson's bleak performance. It all leads up to an ending that is deplorable (I'm talking about the very last scene, not the ending in general), but the ride along the way is well-worth it. He's a cop with nothing to lose--so fasten your seat belt. (And the fact that the previous line doesn't come off as cheesy serves to show how worthwhile this film is.)

2013-05-16 16:37:28

Mel's back in fine form in this conspiracy thriller

I've seen both versions of this terrific story about a police officier searching for the killers of his daughter and I have to admit the American version is superior in many ways to the BBC mini-series version despite a good performance by Ron Peck in the latter. Though both were directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye;Mask of Zorro), the Gibson version is tighter and more focused versus the slackness of the BBC series. Despite his absence from the screen for 8 yrs, Mel Gibson has matured into an even better screen actor than he previously was. Harrison Ford was considered as a first choice but in retrospect, he's a bit long in the tooth for this role and maybe a little too mellow to play the avenging angel that the character of Craven calls for. I doubt seriously that anyone in the Academy will vote for Gibson (because of his long ago meltdown) or for that matter, Michael Caine for "Harry Brown" but both films are political in nature masquerading as action revenge thrillers. They are both in a sense, "wake-up" calls to what's wrong with our society today.

2013-05-15 00:11:13

Too many holes in the story

The story doesn't add up. The backstory is lacking for one. The daughter confides in a lawyer, senator, and reporter instead of talking to her own father?? The father and daughter supposedly have a close relationship but haven't spoken in years?? Too many supporting characters are crammed in. This movie was just stupid.

Linda Cook 2013-05-14 07:31:44

Solid, hard-hitting and tense, "Edge of Darkness" is a drama for grownups who enjoy thrillers.

stephenrtod 2013-04-23 11:17:36

Mel Gibson still has it Going On.

I thought that two of Mel Gibson's intensely emotional scenes wereabsolutely convincing. Twenty-three after his portrayal of Lt. Riggs inthe first "Lethal Weapon" movie, when Gibson was 31, the actordemonstrates that he is still fit and that the range and depth, andbreadth of his histrionic emotions has matured since movies such as"Braveheart" and "The Man Without a Face." Ray Winstone plays a veryambiguous, interestingly-ambivalent shadowy character, perhaps the mostintriguing figure in the film. The intimate tete-a-tetes with Gibsonare synergistic, the two playing a subtle duet in the midst of theinexplicable fury and betrayal surrounding them.I would recommend this movie to any fans of Mel Gibson. He becomes thecharacter; he owns the role; he is totally invested in carrying thestory line forward.

Marshall Fine 2013-04-22 17:47:32

Edge of Darkness isn't a great film but it's crisply efficient one that's almost always engrossing...Gibson has fire in his eye and gravel in his Bahston accent.

Alice Tynan 2013-04-12 20:22:46

While it's not quite a return to form, the film is welcome comeback vehicle for Gibson.

Dicksimple 2013-04-12 09:18:12

Painfully slow from beginning to end.SPOILER ALERT

This movie is painfully slow. The choices the writer/director makes at the beginning to establish the relationship between Gibson and his daughter are cliched and ineffective. I wish I could have teared up with Mel the many times he thinks of his daughter, but the relationship isn't really effectively established at the beginning--and I zoned out every time. From there the movie runs with little or no traction. A strong performance by Ray Winstone of Sexy Beast fame cannot save this predictable thriller.

rbrb 2013-04-10 05:13:46

I am left totally in the dark

Near the end of this movie one character is explaining about releasinga story to the press so convoluted that it obscures the facts and thatneatly summaries my view about this nonsense of a film. Cop seeks touncover why his daughter was murdered and finds all sorts ofconspiracies and subplots. For most of this film the actors talk inriddles and I ain't got a clue what any of it is about if indeed theactors do! There is one English performer who is totally out of placewith his cockney fruit and veggie seller accent and acting; none of theplayers in this picture are convincing in their roles. The plot istotally ludicrous and the actors give the impression they know that andgive half hearted effort to their work. The only reason I give thismovie just above the lowest vote is for some reasonable special effectsaction:This film is trash and I wonder how I managed to get to the end of it,2/10

2013-04-10 05:04:49

Edge of Darkness review

This review is from: Edge of Darkness (DVD) Excellent! The movie arrived quickly and as advertised, in new condition. I will buy from this seller again.

Adam Tobias 2013-04-03 01:23:01

It's good to have you back, Mel.

Joe Williams 2013-04-02 17:03:51

Without action, compelling characters or a coherent point of view, Edge of Darkness doesn't have a glimmer of good qualities.

witster18 2013-04-01 12:39:14

blahzaeblah....

I was disappointed with this one.The problems lie with the plausibility, and the script itself, which isawful. The writing is so bad - that not even Ray and Mel can make itsound good. The plot - awful. A U.S. company selling nuclear weaponsabroad is both implausible, and poorly executed here, as the film doesnear nothing to explain this 'minor detail'. You will leave thisviewing experience with nothing more than a vague idea of what actuallyhappened.5 is a pretty generous score here. The production values are high, andI rather liked the occasional gore and violence because it added adegree of realism to an otherwise unbelievable plot.I guess there's no point going on about spilled milk. UtterlyForgettable. FOr a film who's' trump card is Mel Gibson kicking #$$ -this film gives us far too little of that, and more plot holes than Ihave seen in quite some time. For a movie that basically doesn't makeany sense for two hours - it's actually pretty good.54/100

2013-03-31 17:36:44

the total crew was of Great in this plot,very well written Mel Gib A+++

The story line has many twists The cast of actors was well thought out.even though its a fiction movie, you can easily see how something like this can happen in our wonderfully open to the truth society. +++A most see+++

TomfromBoston 2013-03-31 08:34:07

not a bad movie

Mel Gibson is sometimes a bit stone-faced in this one, lacking theright intensity for some of the situations of his character. But still,the movie's plot is pretty good, enough to keep my interest. If you'relooking to enjoy a detective story that doesn't require a lot of mentaleffort, and that doesn't get too deep, it's a pretty way to spend acouple of hours. Regarding the Boston accents, if you're not from NewEngland, you'll never be able to fake a Boston accent. It's just toohard an accent to learn in a short period. That said, the accents inthis movie were bad in some places, but good in others. If you just cutthe actors a bit of slack on the accents, you'll have a chance to enjoythe movie a bit more.

tachal10 2013-03-31 05:22:23

Terrible movie

I do not even know where to start with this movie... I live in Germanyand we have sneak previews of movies but you never know what you willsee till u are there.... Tonight this movie happened to be playing andI came out of the theater feeling like I just lost two hours of mylife!!! The acting in this movie was like nothing I've seen before....The Boston accent was nothing like the real thing... the jokes were notfunny. I never comment on movies but felt like I had to with this onecause I see it has 7 out of 10 on here and I would like to think thatpeople who vote here have better taste then giving it this high rating.Not worth ever seeing!!!!

blackmamba99971 2013-03-25 01:37:04

Mels better look

This had a slight hint of Law abiding citizen, where the characterloses both his wife and child. Yet in this film its just Mel'sdaughter. A cop who has his daughter visit on a whim, is at home whereis preparing dinner. In the midst of this, she becomes very sick andneeds to go to the hospital. And in taking his daughter to the door,she is blow away by a shotgun blast at close range. Seeing as his lifecould not get any worse than it is. He takes the law into his own handsand his own brand of justice prevails on finding his girls killer. Butin doing so, uncovers some shady dealing with a peculiar nuclearfacility and how certain information fell into the hands of hisdaughter. So in essence she was marked for death, where her fatherthought it might have been someone sent to kill him for a possiblegrudge against a criminal. The story worked to a point where the cluesled to a powerful nuclear facility, but the idea had the same feel aslaw abiding citizen. Nobody wanted to help him, nobody was lifting afinger to see how they can resolve his little girls murder. It justfelt off. But Mel was great in his role, playing a hardened cop wholost the last of his family and with nothing to lose. Going on a bloodyrampage to find her killer, and blowing anybody away who got in HISway. One of Mels better roles. HE plays a good cop.

2013-03-24 05:46:17

MEL'S BACK

Mel Gibson is back but he's no lethal weapon. Looking old and tired, he nonetheless gives a hearty performance in this complex and convoluted thriller. The plot's hard to follow and the pacing a little slow. I also found Ray Winstone's accent difficult to understand. Lena Headey was an effective mate for Gibson. While it held my interest, I wish it had been more intense in its delivery.

eucalyptus9 2013-03-23 22:54:33

It's Mel's movie, and he's pretty good

I prefer Mel Gibson the director to Mel Gibson the actor, although hemade a pretty good fist of both in "BraveHeart". It seems that, now theyouthful good looks have faded, then it's roles like this that suit hiscraggy, lived-in face and the macho persona. Since it's almostexclusively Mel's movie, he needs to be good in it. And he is.Whereas Danny Huston was a disappointment. From the bewildered suitorof "Birth" to the savage outlaw of "The Proposition" to the vampireleader of "30 Days of Night", he's been consistently watchable. But inthis, his mannered, if brief, performance seems distracted, as thoughhe's not really interested. Maybe he wanted a bigger part, but no-onebesides Mel got one of those.Bojana Novakovic brings an ethereal beauty to the screen. I'd only seenher occasionally in the Australian series "Satisfaction", in which sheplays a high-class prostitute. The series seemed pretty tedious, so Ionly ever caught snatches of it, but whenever she was on-screen, thingsseemed to lift a little.As for the film itself, apparently it's not as good as the TV series,but it moved along with verve. There's some heart-warming stuff betweenMel and his child, some snappy dialogue between him and Ray Winstone,and I think I even laughed once. It's a pretty simple story aboutbaddies at various levels of corporate and government life, not tooconvoluted or difficult to follow. I did like the scene at the end, inwhich Ray Winstone spares the life of the young cop, only to find thathis generosity does not receive the appreciation it deserves.Overall, an enjoyable if not great movie. 7/10

JimmyO 2013-03-23 08:40:50

This is easily one of the best films of Mel Gibson's career and his performance is right on target.