It's okay. An evening's mindless entertainment, nothing particularly original and not a patch on the original British 'Edge of Darkness' series. Swim through broken glass to find it. An extraordinarily fine and original piece with all the elements--fabulous script, wonderful acting (especially Bob Peck's compelling and understated Ronnie Craven) and Joanne Whalley as Emma and wonderful Joe Don Baker as Jedburgh; master score by Eric Clapton...etc etc.......all spun together brilliantly by Martin Campbell....who for some reason has returned to try to bring some class to this tired American remake. Why?

Mel Gibson makes a welcome return to the big screen with this, a remake of an acclaimed BBC miniseries from the 1980s which has the same director in Martin Campbell. I hadn't seen the original version, but I saw that William Monahan was present as screenwriter and after enjoying his previous remake (THE DEPARTED) I thought I'd probably like this one. I was wrong. I didn't just like this – I loved it! This film contains everything I love about thrillers: a conspiracy reaching to the highest levels, sinister guys in black suits and 4x4s with tinted windows always in the background, a lone hero looking for justice, and a few blistering action sequences thrown in for good measure.The story of a father seeking justice for his murdered daughter is nothing new, but the intelligent and literate script breathes life into the tired premise and makes it seem fresh once more. Despite the presence of some brief, decent action (a fight that recalls the one in QUANTUM OF SOLACE and a car stunt that recalls the one in CASINO ROYALE) this is more of a thinking man's thriller as our hero tries to make sense of jigsaw clues and a conspiracy blackout.Gibson has long been one of my favourite presences in Hollywood. His films, whether as director or actor, always seem to have heart and I hope his new Viking movie ends up getting made. He's on top form here as the grieving father, accessing some really dark areas and at the same time providing some touching moments when he sees his daughter before him. The supporting cast is also fine, with stand-out turns from Danny Huston as the slimy suited bad guy and Ray Winstone as an ambivalent figure, the kind who "stops you connecting A to B".The best presence of all is that of Martin Campbell, who directs a film that's extremely polished and well made, with every scene crafted so that it's just right. The climax is inevitable but well handled and it's nice to see the bad guys getting their just deserts in such a well-filmed way. Definitely one of the year's best, this.

I sat in one Sunday Night and watched this. Here's a film I liked better than I thought I would. Edge Of Darkness is an exciting film, first rate, that marks the return after 8 years of one of Hollywood's most difficult stars. Gibson plays a Homicide detective who's activist daughter (Novajak) is gunned down before his very eyes. He originally thought the bullet was intended for him, but soon, things have him thinking otherwise, as he walks a dark path of investigation, towards discovering who the murderous hand was, and we know what Mel will do when he finds him and these other sons of bitches. The whole film was a great night in, and this film never lets go of it's pace or intensity, One moment, involving a car run down, jumped me, I must say. Winstone as some seedy PI made the film more involving, his demise a shock, when his true self came to light at the end. What was a nice, beautiful, and affecting memory was a flashback scene in the finale with Gibson and daughter strolling a hospital corridor as if she survived. One of those exciting and engrossing films, which Hollywood is in scant supply of and none more a perfect vehicle, that herald Gibson's return to the screen.

What was a passably good thriller turned into a weapons fest and fast car crash to bring Mel Gibson's career back from the dead. Every piece of action totally predictable and all the subtlety of the TV series buried in an orgy of medium calibre weapons and liberal showers of pasta sauce. The plot is lost in endless takes of Mel's suffering face- the nearest he ever gets to any sort of intellectuality. Boys with toys replaces detailed analysis of a sinister cover-up. Winstone is adequate but the original ending with Joe Don Baker slamming together two critical masses of plutonium carries more punch than this yet another gory shoot out. The point is totally lost. About as thrilling and absorbing as steamed dumplings; a flavourless, odourless colourless turkey.