.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

I've always been a fan of Mel Gibson. I have seen almost all of his films in the theatre dating back to Mad Max. I have liked him at his best (Ransom) and forgiven him for his worst (Bird on a Wire). Mel just had a kind of charisma that oozed onscreen and could go from heavy cop thrillers (Lethal Weapon) to sappy directorial efforts (Man without a Face) to out and out bad guy (Payback) but still be entertaining and alluring every step of the way.

We all know what derailed this A-List star from the Hollywood stratosphere. A drinking problem with an accompanying mouth leading to public embarrassment and almost seclusion over the past five years. Now divorced and rumored to be sober, Gibson is back doing what he does best - acting in solid motion pictures.

Edge of Darkness marks his return to the silver screen as Detective Thomas Craven. Thomas, who is about as clean a cop as you will find in movies these days, has his world turned upside down when his visiting daughter is murdered outside his Boston home.

Craven's subsequent investigation will lead him from thinking he was the intended target to investigating his daughters involvement at a nuclear research facility. Aided by good police work and a mysterious government agent, Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) Craven will follow the clues that will have him uncover a conspiracy that includes governments and corporate representatives.

Edge of Darkness is based on the 1985 BBC mini-series that starred Bob Peck and Joe Don Baker. Comparisons are slight as the predecessor was a whopping 320 minutes in length and was produced during a time when computers and cell phones were things of the future. What Edge of Darkness 2010 brings to the table is a smart and intricate story with multiple characters each represented by strong acting performances, in particular Gibson who shows little rust having been on the shelf all these many years. Think of Michael Clayton with more guns.

What Edge of Darkness is not is a riff on last year's Liam Nesson success, Taken. The comparisons between these two films are: both protagonists had a gun; both protagonists had a daughter. It pretty much ends there.

Dark and moody there is a lot to like about Edge of Darkness. It has multiple layers and takes it's time in each new reveal. Audiences could have done without the flashbacks or the ghost references when Craven begins to think he can hear and talk to his dead daughter. Those scenes, which numbered in the few, could have been left on the cutting room floor. The final scene of Craven and his daughter in the hospital could have been snipped as well.

But what does work, works well. The action is well placed and there is one or two jump out of your seat scenes you likely won't see coming.

If this is 2010's answer to Taken, I'll take it. Edge of Darkness is a better film in every regard and is a good way to spend a cold winters afternoon in the theatre.