I'm not a big Mel Gibson fan. Jay has told me Gibson did the Lethal Weapon series, but I haven't seen any of them, so I can't speak for that. But from what I saw this movie, I can surely say this: goddamn it, Mel Gibson is a badass mother-effer!
This movie is no Taken, and contrary to what a good friend of mine said, Edge of Darkness is not directed by same director who directed Taken. The latter was directed by Pierre Morel, whereas the former was directed by Martin Campbell, who is famous for directing Golden Eye, The Mask of Zoro, and Casino Royale (this one is one of my favorite movies).
Whereas Taken is a fast paced action movie with a decent plotline, Edge of Darkness proceeds with a slower pace, focusing more on how Mel Gibson's character, Thomas Craven, finds out who killed his daughter, and putting the corrupt people in justice once he found out who was behind all of it. In other words, this movie is more of detective thriller than an action movie. Although Thomas Craven was initially motivated by revenge, his final goal was justice.
Because Edge of Darkness focuses more on character than action, it allows Mel Gibson to bring out his acting skills. Martin Campbell also did a fabulous job as the director -- his use of silence in this film had me sitting at the edge of my seat. Instead of having bombs go off and automatic guns firing randomly all over the place as per Michael Bay style, no character in Edge of Darkness uses any weapon more advanced than a handgun (okay, I think one charaacter used a shotgun once, but stil no automaic weapons). And no one pulls the trigger on his handgun like there's no tomorrow. When guns are fired, they are done in the background of silence, providing a great contrast that jolts audiences out of their seats.
Another thing I really liked about the movie was that even though we as the audience know that justice will be served in the end, that Thomas Craven will kick everyone's ass in all the fight scenes, I was still able to put myself in the character's shoes. When he gets hurt, the audience goes "noooo" and when he kills the villain, we go "YEAH... SERVES THAT DOUCHEBAG RIGHT!" Martin Campbell definitely brings the movie to you, instead of forcing you to guess what the character was feeling.
I think I've written enough now, so I'm going to end here. If there's one thing that you should take away from reading this, it's that Edge of Darkness is NOT your typical action movie -- it's a detective thriller, and you'll need to do some thinking as you watch. In that aspect, I think the movie is more similar to The Constant Gardener than Taken.
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Genre: Mystery/Thriller
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2 comments:
sounds interesting. i'll make a note to see it sometime. i'm a fan of mel gibson, who was brilliant in The Patriot and Braveheart.
Hmm, I'm not too sure if I want to watch Mel Gibson's films anymore after his infamous anti-semantic outburst.
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