Off the edge

Edge of Darkness does violence to Gibson's acting comeback | Rebecca Cusey

Warner Bros./AP

Mel Gibson is back. He returns to acting in Edge of Darkness (rated R for strong, bloody violence and language), playing an intense cop tracking down his daughter's murderer. Gibson hasn't starred in a major film since 2002's Signs. His return to the silver screen has been highly anticipated, both by fans and by the Hollywood establishment sharpening its knives.

If only the movie were better.

Gibson plays Tom Craven, a stoic Boston cop with a strong moral core. His young adult daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic), home for a visit and clearly very ill, is murdered before his eyes. As an "officer involved" crime, at first everyone assumes the bullet was meant for the father and not the daughter. However, as Craven delves into his little girl's work, he finds a conspiracy that goes to the highest levels.