Thomas Craven is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father. When his only child, 24-year-old Emma, is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But he soon suspects otherwise, and embarks on a mission to find out about his daughter's secret life and her killing. His investigation leads him into a dangerous looking-glass world of corporate cover-ups, government collusion and murder -- and to shadowy government operative Darius Jedburgh who has been sent in to clean up the evidence. Craven's solitary search for answers about his daughter's death transforms into an odyssey of emotional discovery and redemption.

It seems like an eternity since we saw Mel Gibson on the big screen, well almost eight years in Hollywood is an eternity. You almost forget at one time Gibson was a Hollywood mainstay known for his acting and not his crazy antics off the set. But in Edge of Darkness Gibson returns to the screen once more with a vengeance in a role that is tailor fit for him. Dark and vengeful ala Ransom and Payback with just a touch of insanity ala the Lethal Weapon series and after being pulled over for DUI. It is the kind of film perfect for Gibson and as it unfolds you start remembering how much you used to like him as an actor and how good of an actor he once was.

The movie is nothing that complex it is a simple tale of a man who watches his daughter gunned down in front of him and will do anything to bring justice and a little vengeance to those responsible. Sure at one time they mix in a little smoking gun like conspiracy as Gibson tries to solve the reason his daughter was gunned down but that was not was the movie was about. The movie was about Gibson in full force once more doing what he once did mess wreaking havoc on the bad guys and going a little crazy in the name of revenge and vengeance.

The sad thing in picking a part that is so similar to what Gibson has done in the past they actually may have played it to safe. Edge of Darkness is a good movie and it is entertaining but it is also very vanilla at times. It is something we have seen from Hollywood before as well as Gibson himself. It doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy the film it just means the movie ends up being quite forgettable in a bevy of films that are so much like it.

There isn’t really many other performance to speak of other than Gibson’s as this movie was basically written for Gibson and starring him. Characters flit in an out of the movie as the conspiracies unravel but the only constant is Thomas Craven played by Gibson. Edge of Darkness is a good vehicle piece if Gibson wants to make a comeback and it reminds us that we once like it him as he does a good job in a movie tailor made for him even if it was a little vanilla and they played it way to safe.

Grade: B-