Dark of Edgeness

Mel Gibson has been off the screen for a while (as an actor), but I did see his last movie, and now I've seen this one. This movie has a few issues, relating to what the hell this movie is, genre-wise.

We all know the movie starts with Craven's daughter getting killed. And Craven feels sad about it. Yet this movie is not about Craven sitting there weeping, so somehow the movie has to move from being 'sad drama' to being 'action drama' or possibly thriller. There is a clear point where we switch from 'sad drama' and move into... and here's another problem. Action? No really. Here's a secret I'm revealing: action movie this ain't. I've seen action movies, and this isn't one. Thriller? Um... to be honest, it's not that thrilling either. Government/Conspirady? Lamely (see belwo). Let's just stick with 'drama' and hope people come to see it expecting an action movie.

Another issue is the plot. As in, there barely is one. We are presented with people mumbling in low tones as if what they have to say is dramatic, but there were many times when I was lost as to what was going on. But, unfortunately, there were many moments (often the same moment) where I didn't care. The big reveal of "something bad going on" was so incredibly facile that you wonder if the script writers even cared about coming up with something. "Let's rip off a TV series and see if we can remove anything interesting from it." Bad things happen, Mel Gibson uncovers it, people die... yeah, why did I go see this again?

Oh, for the drama moments of Craven caring about his daughter. To be honest, they are well acted scenes, and emotion is well conveyed without suggesting even slightly that it is anything more than grief (such as slipping into insanity - an otherwise easy choice) driving it. They were the most enjoyment parts of the film! Go on ya, Mel!

To say that I was bored would be to give a negative impression of this movie and suggest you shouldn't see it... I was bored.

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