"Edge of Darkness" has a tough road to hoe from the very start because it stars controversy lightning rod Mel Gibson. It's hard to see Gibson as anything else but Crazy Ass Mel nowadays and this film doesn't help itself much by barely giving his character any backstory. Making matters worse, the producers moved the original British mini-series and set it in Boston so Mel was doing a Boston accent in the film. And that's what it seemed like, not a guy from Boston but Mel Gibson running around talking like a Masshole.

Now I'll readily admit that the Mel Issue might have ruined the film for me but honestly, there really isn't much film to ruin. The film definitely feels like an adaptation of a longer story. I'm also not surprised to read that the original mini-series was told in a non-linear story because there seems to be a lot missing in this film. And because so much is missing, what is left just feels kind of boring and it plays like a retread of countless other "Vengeful Cop/Father" movies. Also, unlike "Fair Game" which basically revolves around the fact that it's one family vs. the government, this film never really makes that much of an issue. Mel's mad cop just goes from one suspect to the next, no matter who they are.

Also, character-wise, because the film's plot kicks off from the get-go, we never really see Mel's cop "disintegrate", which is how the character's personality is described in write-ups about the mini-series. There are no real stakes. In a film like "Gone Baby Gone", we can see what the obsession over a crime can do to a marriage. The same for "Fair Game". In this film, Gibson's character seems like he's on the outs from the very beginning and just stays there. Even a straight-forward revenge movie like "Man on Fire" has more depth to the character than this film.

In the end, I don't think it matters whether I say to watch this film or not because by halfway through the movie, you'll stop really paying attention. From the reviews, I'd recommend checking out the BBC mini-series and skipping this poorly adapted American rehash. Unless you love pretty much any and every stock cop drama, there's no need to check out "Edge of Darkness".

Or if you want to catch the next BBC series that will (and should) probably get a US remake, check out "Luther", starring Idris Elba, best known as Stringer Bell from "The Wire". I've only seen the last three episode of the six episode first series but it was great and had a few twists that I didn't really see coming. I just checked out the opening of Ep. 1 and it's a pretty great set-up of what the show is like. Here's part 1 of episode 1.