Edge of Darkness 2010

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Gibson tries on a Boston accent (it needs work) and boringly underplays his character before the inevitable "Mad Mel" makes his appearance in the third act. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Kill someone's only child, and what do you have? You have a righteous avenger role almost too well-suited for Gibson's persona. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: The plotline... is so convoluted, it goes way past silliness; the big reveals are obvious, and by the time they come to fruition, suspense has long since leaked away. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: There's more emphasis on bloodlust than grief -- a shame considering the mini's most powerful moments explored Craven's deeply conflicted agony. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Edge of Darkness is a meathead revenge picture, but it's very satisfying. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Gibson's performance is certainly intense, but the gleeful energy he once brought to such hits as Lethal Weapon -- or even to Conspiracy Theory, an excellent flop -- has turned toxic, and his somber scourge is no fun at all. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: This crisp, gripping drama of brutal criminal intrigue and sinister moral violence is smart and absorbing in its every nuance, and Gibson dominates the elaborate action with an assured performance that's as authoritative as it is affecting. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Edge Of Darkness quickly devolves into another showcase for Gibson's snorting-bull act, a routine he could happily have shelved during his time off. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The film depends on Gibson's performance, and he comes through. Read more

Sam Allis, Boston Globe: A long, complicated affair that has its moments but suffers from an overwrought plot. Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader: A conspiracy that extends to the highest levels of tedium and confusion. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The only edge here is in the title. This is indeed your father's thriller. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: As compressed and updated by screenwriters William Monahan and Andrew Bovell, it's just a conventional, divertingly propulsive, borderline boilerplate corporate-high-jinks thriller. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: There's undeniable catharsis -- albeit an ugly, somewhat unsettling catharsis -- in Edge of Darkness. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: How did this canny, savvy performer get roped into such a dud for his big acting comeback? Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Gibson, of course, snaps and snarls and blows out some brains with a joylessness that is thoroughly enjoyable. It's like he never left. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: I liked the pace and the pulse of the film, but it launches no genuine surprise and, despite being irradiated with scenes of sickness and morbid one-liners, has little afterglow. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Gibson remains -- despise or defend him -- a uniquely fascinating screen presence as our shattered hero. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Gibson hasn't had a starring role in seven years, but he has no trouble returning to work. That he looks a little wearier, and a lot older, simply adds to his character's pathos. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Campbell and his cinematographer, Phil Meheux, create a pervasive sense of dread, with danger lurking around every corner of Boston and its environs. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Mel Gibson desperately needs a good movie. His fans need to see him in one. I am sorry to report that Edge of Darkness is not it. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The pace is languorous, the volume (with the exception of three or four jolting episodes of violence) low, the lighting dim and grim. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Edge of Darkness has earned its January release date -- this movie deserves to be dumped into theaters with little fanfare. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Gibson looks every bit his age, but he can still bring the fierce determination as well as anyone in the business. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Gibson is a credible, attractive hero, as he has always been, so if you want fast-food action, here's your movie. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The plot complications involving nuclear waste and political maneuvering have been trivialized beyond all meaning. But watching Gibson in a revenge fantasy feeds all my needs for a bloodlusting B-movie feast. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Gibson's character here is a man crazed with grief. But it looks as if Gibson is just using that as an excuse to act crazy, period. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A crime drama that's exciting in the moment and that lingers in the mind. Read more

Tom Horgen, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Is this a drama about a father's loss? No. Is this a political thriller? Maybe, but a good thriller should consistently surprise the viewer. The movie's revelations are met with a resounding "duh." Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Without action, compelling characters or a coherent point of view, Edge of Darkness doesn't have a glimmer of good qualities. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Edge of Darkness is offered as a political thriller, but with real-world politics removed. What we're left with is a familiar mechanism for delivering a vicarious, violent, wish-fulfilment fantasy. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: No longer quite so movie star handsome, Gibson's deeply lined features and thinning mane complement a performance that is finely tuned and textured -- mournful, cunning, determined and explosive with rage. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Gibson, who has always been an undervalued actor, does a sturdy job as a grieving dad who still engages in conversations with his dead child; it's almost a letdown when he puts aside his mourning sickness and spirals into melodrama. Read more

Wally Hammond, Time Out: Scriptwriters William Monahan and Andrew Bovell have sadly sacrificed some of the original's cultural specificity and its slow-burn quality. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Not only is Edge of Darkness Gibson's best work in a decade -- a big improvement over such drivel as What Women Want -- it is a well-crafted thriller. Read more

Brian Lowry, Variety: Campbell's topnotch production team yields predictably polished results, but the director's decision to revisit the late Troy Kennedy Martin's teleplay, finally, feels lacking. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: There's nothing especially edgy or dark, or darkly edgy, or even particularly twilit about Edge of Darkness, at least as thrillers go. Read more