Edge of Darkness

One of the strangest remakes of recent years has been this film, derived from a 1980s British television series. Unfortunately I think I only ever saw the first episode of the series, and so I can’t offer much of a comparison between the two. However, it’s relatively obvious from watching the film that there is a great plot and script behind it all that must have come from the series. Indeed, the director Martin Campbell was the director of the original series (he has since directed Casino Royale, but also The Legend of Zorro). This, unfortunately, is where the comparisons end. Perhaps the greatest disaster of this remake was the casting of Mel Gibson. He is quintessentially wrong for this role, and not just because his attempt at a Boston accent is jarring. Production started just after The Departed won several Oscars, and you can’t help but hear the studio saying ‘let’s do another thriller set in Boston, only this time let’s get Mel Gibson!’. The plot is long, the characters are complex, and it all feels too much for this film. What’s more, the idea of a nuclear threat is not so strong today as it was in the 1980s, and the feel of a secretive, oppressive government (based on Thatcher at the time) isn’t as compelling anymore. Having not seen the original, there is still intrigue here, but the whole thing falls awkwardly together. The saccharine ending in particular I can’t help but feel was designed by Hollywood, and the two anonymous men in suits who follow Gibson around, like Men in Black, are one of the most ridiculous aspects of the remake. It is perhaps a television series that could be adapted well to the cinema, but this film isn’t it.