At the Movies With Peter Travers: “Edge of Darkness,” “Saint John of Las Vegas” and “When in Rome”
This weekend marks Mel Gibson’s big return to the silver screen, and Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers is here to tell you his take on the vengeance flick Edge of Darkness. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Gibson — Signs in 2002 was his last major role — and the man we used to know as Mad Max, Brett Maverick and Martin Riggs doesn’t quite have those matinee-handsome looks anymore that made him a star all those years back. Still, Gibson is effective as a Boston cop who seeks revenge against those responsible for killing his daughter before his eyes.
For the dead of winter, Edge of Darkness is an “OK B-film,” Travers says, with director Martin Campbell adequately turning his epic six-hour British miniseries into a sub-two-hour revenge film. Still, the third act sort of falls off the rails as Gibson’s own policeman operates outside the law, but if you’ve really, really missed Gibson’s onscreen persona these past eight years, then you should probably go check out Edge as Mel doesn’t disappoint.
Also out this weekend is Saint John of Las Vegas, the story of a gambling junkie played by Steve Buscemi. The actor and his co-star Sarah Silverman shine in this film, however the movie itself doesn’t elevate itself to the talents of its principal actors. Finally, the cookie-cutter rom-com When In Rome is out this weekend, starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, but Travers has opted to use his second “Get Out of Jail Free” card of 2010 to avoid watching this sure-to-be-Scum Bucket chick flick.
Read This Week’s Reviews:
• Saint John of Las Vegas
• Edge of Darkness
Read all of Rolling Stone‘s movie reviews.
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