Edge of Darkness (Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston) – 2011 Razzies: Here comes your first nominee. Mel Gibson’s first starring role in eight years comes in one of the worst movies I have seen since Eye of the Beholder and Point of No Return. Those two movies were terrible crime drama thrillers, too. This one is simply ludicrous. Start with a plot right out of the Hollywood file cabinet. Cop avenges the death of his loved one, thus has nothing to lose. So he goes off as a one-man vigilante to even the score, discovers a deeper and intricate plot, and makes the world better for mankind. Yes, there is an evil corporate executive. Indeed, there is a crooked politician, evil government intelligence officials, and dirty cops. Never heard that one before.
The plot holes in Edge of Darkness make it feel like the soap opera The Edge of Night. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this was a parody of a really good cop drama. But it isn’t. Instead, it’s a remake of a 1985 6-part British mini-series directed by Martin Campbell, the same guy who did the mini-series and who has since directed two Bond movies (Casino Royale and Golden Eye) and the two Zorro movies. He directed a real clunker here. I wish I had the space to bore you with all the questions with which I walked out of the theater.
If you are intrigued, bored, or crazy enough to spend money to see this (thank goodness I saw it for only $5, including popcorn), you will be perplexed too. On the positive side, the film is suspenseful, and the action and tension is constant. It probably isn’t a good sign that I laughed more than I held my breath. I almost didn’t see the movie, wanting as I did to boycott it as several Jewish organizations have suggested due to Gibson’s continuous anti-Semitic outbursts. But, alas, I saw it and wasted two hours of my life. Don’t waste yours.