Tuesday, January 26, 2010

For the sake of not having to write the same intro a million different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull process of full film reviews and instead opts to break things down based on what I thought going in, what happened while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.  Hope that's OK.

Read on!

The Breakdown - Edge Of Darkness

The Impression:

Mel Gibson is back.  And he's angry.  That's it.


The Reality:

Despite being a little more slow-paced than I had anticipated, the movie does follow through on it's promise of showing Mel Gibson beat up, shoot and outwit bad guys in a variety of cheer-out-loud ways.  Unfortunately, most of the stuff in between each of those scenes isn't nearly as entertaining.  Part of that I think might be director Martin Campbell's fault (there was a whole lot of shifty-eyed Mel just standing around), but a large chunk of it is due to a shaky script that relies too much on cliché plot devices and awkward ghost whispering.


The Lesson:

Mel can still kick ass and take names like no one else, but like any good actor, he's at his best when those particular skills aren't the only thing keeping the flick afloat.
 

- John Laird - -



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