"You're either hanging on the cross, or hammering in the nails. Or directing the whole thing"

Melanie Gibbons has been away far too long from our screens that we only associate him with The Passion Of the Christ and Apocalypto. You know, ultra violent films wherein violent societies are brought down by the qualities of Catholicism (Wow!)
So after Signs, it's nice to have a break where Mel can get rid of his demons, I hear he dabbles a tad in some quiet nightly romps with Mr. Jackanory Daniels and promote Kristalnacht after a few, but that's neither here nor there.

No, Mel is back as the lead of a film. Remember the times people cared about that stuff? The good old days, I can say old os I wasn't born before they started, when things like Lethal Weapon and Mad Max appeared, Mel was an insane, funny, charismatic, emotional lead we all loved. Well, at least he's back to us no, whilst in Edge Of Darkness he doesn't offer any humour, it's fine because the situation would only be hindered by some Mel gags. Dunno about you, but if my daughter was shot in front of me by a henchman of an obviously evil lead of a corporation working with the government detailing nuclear weapons, I'd not be going up alongside Raaaaaaaandy! and offering a set meself.

But to the film's credit, they try to let Ray Winstone, a comedian the likes of Colin Firth if Mark Kermode is to be believed, as he offers small lines repeated until you laugh, it's like a Seltzer Friedberg script there, but I digress, lets talk about the actual film.

So, based on an old miniseries from the BBC, like most films that aren't reboots or sequels nowadays, Martin Campbell, of Goldeneye and Casino Royale fame, and also he did the horrible Zoro flicks, takes a breath away from action films, as the accumulated action is about 4 minutes maximum, and well done, sans the last scene, which is unnecessary. But it's a drama thriller about one Boston cop who tries to find who shot his daughter. Also it's about Ray Winstone's operative character helping the audience learn everything before the 40th minute is up because he's on both sides of the line, even though it worked well until minute 35 because it was all from Mel's perspective.

Also it's about Danny Huston's ridiculously over evil CEO who has meetings in abandoned areas by a port where he openly details murders like no one would bug him. And it's about a group of radicals trying to take down the evil nuclear conspiracy. There's so much stuff going on by the first hour's end because it is a miniseries turned into a film, and it seems that they felt it was all necessary. It was not.

No, I'd have liked Winstone to be mysterious, Huston to be subtle, the radical stuff, not necessary short of helping Mel link one person to smack in the face to another he can shoot through the hand and into the eye, that's about it.

And it's a shame that the opening 25 minutes are well done and get right on, and the last Mel sequence, where he limps into the CEO's house and shoots everyone without remorse, is so wonderfully done, clearly Campbell's action chops are top notch. But then it goes to Winstone talking to a cover up agent and a senator, trying to compose a PR way to spin the events. Nice. Until Winstone stops talking, stands up and shoots them. Stupid stupid idea, talking at the end, closing it off with everything covered up, not exposed, would have been a dark, wonderful idea. But alas, poor Yorick, we suffer a cliched thriller with a lack of anything but a talented cast and a wonderful director trying hard.

Still, maybe Mel will stay on our screens again, hate him to disappear once more.
5/10