Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson stars in this violent revenge-fueled thriller as Thomas Craven, a grief-stricken veteran homicide detective whose 24-year-old daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is gunned down in his arms on the doorstep of his Boston home. Driven by guilt—believing he was the intended target—Thomas is determined to find her killer, but during his investigation, he discovers that Emma may have been a whistleblower who threatened to expose corporate corruption and a conspiracy involving a U.S. senator (Damian Young). Emma was a research assistant at a private research-and-development compound with top-secret government research contracts, run by slick CEO Jack Bennett (Danny Huston). Thomas's dogged pursuit ultimately puts him in direct conflict with a lethal, cleverly manipulative British wheeler-dealer named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who works for an unnamed employer. Also in the mix is Emma's bizarre boyfriend, David (Shawn Roberts), who's terrified he will be shot, as well. Directed by Martin Campbell, Edge of Darkness is a condensation of his award-winning six-hour BBC-TV miniseries. During the talkative first half, Gibson effectively builds his complex, sympathetic loner character, but the convoluted plot eventually disintegrates into standard-order action with a “surprise” villain who is easy to spot from the get-go. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include additional/alternate scenes (6 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are several “making-of” featurettes, including “Revisiting the Edge of Darkness Miniseries,” “Mel's Back,” “Director Profile: Martin Campbell,” “Boston As a Character,” and more (30 min.), as well as the BD-Live function and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent Blu-ray extras package for a so-so thriller.] (S. Granger)