Edge of Darkness – Daddy’s little girl comes home.
Rated: R Time: 1:56
Stars: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Bojana Novakovic, Danny Huston and others
Final Grade: B+
The United States Declaration of Independence contains the phrase: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” Some of the plotline in this movie isn’t exactly what our founding fathers had in mind, but it is one of the first things that game to my mind when the credits started rolling….
Every parent lives in fear of hearing the news that they’ve lost their child. It’s even worse when the child dies and you’re there when it happens. Such is the lot of Boston police detective and single parent, Tom Craven(Gibson). His daughter Emma(Novakovic) returns home for a visit and is brutally murdered on their front porch an the way to the hospital.
Being a cop, Craven initially thinks that the gunman was after him. The evidence, however, shortly changes in the direction of his daughter being their intended target.
In tracking down the labyrinth of what was her life as an intern in a nuclear defense contractor’s super secret laboratory, Craven comes across a trail of intrigue which points to some major national security concerns as well as a major corruption in government and their contractor. After being perpetually road blocked with answers of “classified” “top secret” and “national security” Craven finds his own way to get his information. What he also finds is a big concern.
It would appear that this weapons contractor has been secretly processing foreign nuclear material for weapons of foreign entities, at their specifications. His daughter left him a DVD which details some of her findings and puts him on the trail of her real killers.
Shadowing him all the time is Darius Jedburgh(Winstone). It’s Jedburgh’s job to make sure that the mess is cleaned up with nothing left. For a contract assassin, Jedburgh’s conversations with Craven are unique in that it would appear he really wants Craven to find the truth in his quest.
We’ve had a couple movies of late in which the underlying theme is that of a father and daughter in a violent situation. In “Taken”, Liam Neeson plays a father whose daughter has been kidnapped by Arab thugs and is being sold to the highest bidder and he’s fighting an inept government as well to get his daughter back. In Darkness, Gibson is fighting corrupt and inept government officials who have killed his daughter and want him dead as well. What was interesting was Jedburgh’s cleaning the slate in the last scenes of the movie, removing the destructive representatives of government and himself in the process. As you watch the plotline unfold, clearly the ideals of Jedburgh and Craven are for the good even though you may question them at the time.
This movie is full of action as well as very heartfelt flashback moments to times with his daughter Emma. Expect to be on the edge of your seat at times and also wondering if your kids are safe at others.
When the credits roll, you’ll be thinking about their solution to corrupt officials and when you get home, you’ll give your kids a big hug.
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the way I saw it, From Where I Stand
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