No Surrender Cinema: Edge of Darkness
The end of the year is upon us, and the final edition of No Surrender Cinema for 2018 covers the comeback story of a Hollywood icon. After almost a decade since he held leading man status, Mel Gibson came blazing back to the big screen as a veteran detective hellbent on getting to the bottom of his daughter’s murder. Will Mel make good on his promise to exact revenge, or will the added layers he uncovers prevent him from getting justice? Let’s find out as we journey to the Edge of Darkness!
Edge of Darkness came out almost a decade ago (having been released in January of 2010), but what most people may not realize it’s that it’s actually a remake of a 1985 BBC mini-series. While that series (from what I’ve read, as I’ve never actually seen it) had a lot more political overtones and a somewhat fantastical nature about it, the modern version is a solid mixture of revenge film, crime drama, and political thriller. It also marks Mel Gibson’s first time back as a leading man since 2002 (where he starred in Signs and We Were Soldiers) and the first film since his unfortunate personal incidents became public knowledge. Having seen this movie in the theater on opening weekend, I can say from experience that no one was thinking about Mel’s drunken tirades during the showing of Edge of Darkness that I was at. What we’ve got here is something that is extremely gripping, never boring, and…well I may as well go full blown cliche and state that Edge of Darkness kept me on the edge of my seat. While I’m writing this column in December 2018, I’m not writing it as a reflection piece of when I watched the film over opening weekend…the movie resides in my DVD collection and has been replayed often on cable as of late, and all these years later it’s a movie that hooks me enough that I’ll leave it playing when I stumble upon it.
Mel Gibson erases any trace of Lethal Weapon’s Martin Riggs character as he steps into the role of veteran detective Tom Craven. There are moments of wit and deadpan delivery sprinkled into the Craven character, but what we’ve got here is a pretty straightforward “Bawston” cop who is about to enjoy a visit from his daughter, Emma. When Emma arrives sick and panicked, Tom tries to sort things out and care for his daughter, but as they start to head to the hospital, Emma is blown away by a shotgun blast delivered by a masked assailant. Emma goes flying backwards, bloody and mortally wounded, and the only clue that Tom has to go on is the murdered shouting “Craven” as he delivered the fatal shot. The murder is chalked up as a career criminal seeking revenge on Tom for having put them away at one point, but Tom senses there is more to the story. Driven by his only child’s death, Tom starts to pursue his own investigation into the who/what/when/where and why his little girl is now laying six feet under, and the further down the rabbit hole he falls, the bigger of a target he himself becomes. Tom’s digging reveals that Emma wasn’t mistakenly killed by someone aiming for him, but rather that she was the target all along. Craven learns that Emma had been working for Northmoor, a government research facility, and discovered that they were crafting nuclear weapons on the down low. Emma’s attempts at seeking help only served to expose her to the wrong kinds of people, and it was those people who not only gave her radiation poisoning, but had her killed. Tom’s inclusion in the matter sees him approached by a Mr. Jedburgh, an assassin who was sent to dispose of Tom quickly, but instead begins bonding with him. Jedburgh backs off of his original intentions and allows Tom to pursue his revenge, and grows to respect and even somewhat bond with Craven. This might be the best babyface turn of an assassin since Forest Whitaker in Diary of a Hitman.
Besides Jedburgh, Tom also understands how shady Northmoor is from an encounter with Emma’s boyfriend David, who is living in fear of their retaliation. Tom offers to help David and protect him, but David refuses the help, not sure if he can truly trust anyone at this point. Another friend of Emma’s, Melissa, at first refuses to help but reluctantly starts offering information to Tom. If you put money on the fact that neither of them would make it until the end of the movie, you’d be right, as both are killed off as soon as they seem like they’ll be an asset to Tom. Not only that, but just as Tom is making his presence felt by confronting the various political figures and higher ups involved with Northmoor, such as Jack Bennett (Danny Huston), he’s being trailed by two agents acting on behalf of Bennett’s orders, one of whom is none other than star of The Purge sequels and Captain America’s nemesis Crossbones, Frank Grillo! In most action movies, we get the scene where the hero has to get his bearings, map out his next move, and maybe even a montage or two. There’s none of that in Edge of Darkness. Tom Craven is a relentless SOB. Why wait for a final battle when you can pull over the man pulling the strings and put a gun to his head right there in the backseat of his car? Of course, since we’re only halfway through the runtime at that point, our villain comes at Tom stronger than ever rather than back off. Tom handles his two agents with relative ease, including what might be my favorite scene in the movie; Tom is being followed by the pair through city traffic, stops his car and backs up into them. Craven comes out, gun drawn, and orders them out of their vehicle, stating that they rear ended him and he noticed that they’re armed (through smoked glass and under their coats, no less). When other cops show up and support Tom’s side of the story, Grillo’s character snidely replies that Tom’s made a serious mistake. Tom, not missing a beat, tells the henchman that he’s a cop, the supposed target of a killer, and they’re following him into his city while armed. “Welcome to hell” is all Tom needs to say to put an exclamation point on his response, and the two are taken away, though Tom has a feeling that one of them might be the one who fired the fatal shot that killed Emma.
Tom might seem to have things tied up in a neat little bow, but all is not what it seems. Tom winds up with radiation poisoning after someone taints his milk, and realizes that his partner Bill (Jay O. Sanders) sold him out to Northmoor. The agents come bursting in, taser Tom, and take him to Northmoor, and even though he’s growing weaker and sicker, Tom manages to escape. He heads back to his house, cleans himself up, and uses his last ounces of energy to eliminate everyone that sent his daughter six feet under. Craven arrives at Bennett’s house and bullets fly, as various underlings (including Grillo) meet their demise via Tom’s gun. Bennett attempts to end Tom’s tour of justice, but Tom shakes off the shot and holds Bennett down, pouring the radioactive milk from his fridge down his throat. Bennett immediately runs for a cure, but Tom places one final bullet in his throat, telling him “deep down, you know you deserve this”. I don’t think anyone watching will disagree there.
Tom is not the only one who had limited time to exact revenge, as earlier in the film it was implied that Jedburgh was living with an illness, and likely why he did not commit to killing Tom. When word gets out that Tom has killed Bennett and friends, Senator Jim Pine (one of the people Craven confronted earlier in the film with his knowledge of the shady tactics) and his advisers discuss their next moves with Jedburgh. Jedburgh seems to think that an assassination attempt would be a good way to spin the story away from tainting the Northmoor name, and when the Senator agrees, he didn’t understand what he was signing up for. Jedburgh shoots both advisers and then kills the Senator as well, then allows himself to be shot by the responding officer. This only furthers the “we’re the same” style of discussions that Jedburgh and Tom had had (including Tom’s “thanks for not killing me” line, said matter of factly), as both men sacrificed themselves for a sense of justice. Knowing that he has ended the lives of Bennett and the man who pulled the trigger on Emma, Tom allows himself to succumb to his wounds and the illness, and walks off into the afterlife with Emma.
I’m not what you’d call a huge Mel Gibson fan, but I absolutely loved him in Edge of Darkness. His portrayal of Tom Craven is one of my favorite roles that he’s ever done, and this is a man who was Martin Riggs and Mad Max. The Boston accent, the deadpan delivery, the take no shit attitude, and the drive for revenge all combine to make Craven an appealing hero. The supporting cast is very good, with Ray Winstone’s portrayal of Jedburgh and Danny Huston’s role as the master manipulator Bennett being the highlights. Even though their appearances feel somewhat scarce due to the breakneck pacing that follows Tom’s revenge and the carnage he leaves in his wake, they’ll definitely leave a mark on you. In fact, the pacing of the film means that Edge of Darkness will hold your interest, and the writing (especially Tom’s dialogue) is another highlight in a movie that’s got plenty of positive pieces to it. If this role was considered career rehab for Mel’s very public mistakes, then he picked a hell of a way to burst back on the scene, because I woudn’t have minded seeing more of the Tom Craven character. I could even make the case that Edge of Darkness compares to Death Wish in some ways, because we’re watching the metamorphosis of a normal man into a badass who cares about nothing more than putting criminals in their graves, even if it means putting their own life at risk. There’s not a lot of humor to be had in Edge of Darkness either, but if you’re like me you’ll get a kick out of the way Tom talks and acts at times. I might be biased since I was born and raised in New England and know plenty of people who talk like Tom Craven, but his blunt persona and lack of cute lines make his distraught demeanor and desperate desire to gain justice for Emma seem all the more real.
Edge of Darkness is currently airing on cable on the HBO family of channels, and can be found on other media rather easily. Watching it again as a refresher for this review only served to remind me of how much I liked it during my first viewing, and that I should be recommending it to more people. Definitely check this one out, especially if you’ve got some days off in the coming weeks. Mel Gibson delivers a can’t miss performance, and you’ll be as invested in Tom Craven’s journey towards justice for his daughter just as much as he was. I don’t think there are any more words I can write to recommend this one more than I have.
