REAL MEN DON'T LOOK LIKE BOYS

Pop Quiz:

Which actor is on his last flight to reboot a stalled screen acting career?

Mel Gibson is a total bad-ass. Thank God! And I think you know what I mean. Gibson is acting dead-eyed crazy again. And nobody does "crazy" the way Gibson does it. Nobody.

Have you forgot how much you enjoyed seeing this actor on screen?

It's contagious.

It's old school.

And that's just the first 15 minutes.

 

“You better decide if you’re hanging on the cross or banging in the nails.”

Mel Gibson in his comeback film, EDGE OF DARKNESS (directed by Martin “Casino Royale” Campbell) actually doesn't look half bad. He sure is a craggy-faced bastard by now, picking up where the actor’s on-screen career abruptly left off, putting Gibson and co-star Ray (“The Departed”) Winston in tough-guy mode, shooting from the hip and the lip...SWEET.

And about time—finally seeing Gibson making a real appearance in front of the camera, he's back full-throttle and looks in top form; and needs to do more flicks, given this could be one of the last flights to reboot his stalled screen acting before the onset of those "golden years". EDGE is the perfect project for him, as well as a tribute to a manly leading man doing mind-blowing things, even as a crusty, pissed-off old dog kicking ass and taking names.

I'm stoked, all in and completely down with it.

Hollywood just don't cast men like this. Gibson is a great actor with undeniable charisma, the kind of leading man not around much anymore. I don't give a rat's ass about his or any other stars personal life; Mel Gibson owes us nothing but his personal best on screen each time out. And the man always delivers. Always.

One of few people in the industry who belongs on both sides of the camera, he's absolutely a solid filmmaker; but as an actor in front of the camera is where he belongs.Damn straight. I sit at home watching old DVDs to see a movie tough guy rather than pay twenty bucks at the local multiplex to sit through yet another cheesy flick about a 95-pound chick kicking the hell out of a full grown man, or a bland metro-sexual twenty-something trying to make believers of us all.

 

"I want to dislike you, but you're so damn badass I'm completely unable to do that."—Subtlety, Ain't-It-Cool.com

The return of a proper leading man, as if Mel Gibson is out to show those Hollywood fem-boys, those "muppets" currently occupying the screen how it's really suppose to be done, in viewing the trailer it can be said that the film comes off like a bunch of Gibson's other movies pasted together, familiar territory; might even be generic, were it not for the actor we've come to know extremely well in the solid action genre. Well, the trailer rolls out with high octane, actually a pretty good thriller with this strong comeback performance by Gibson.

EDGE OF DARKNESS written by William Monahan ("The Departed") is in fact an intense mystery but here's the joy: Gibson portrays a detective whose daughter (only child) is murdered; he now has a lot going on inside his head (re: DEATH WISH) that shows up in his face (lots of crevices) and a Boston accent that just won't quit, as he unravels a dark conspiracy ...and given a line of dialogue that will haunt you forever: “ You better decide if you’re hanging on the cross or banging in the nails.”

Maybe little more than low-brow fun, but the film looks tight and entirely enjoyable. Definitely room in the marketplace for a smart adult action/thriller, and this one's a corker.

Martin Campbell, insanely underrated, is just about the best action director working in mainstream U.S. cinema today; and Gibson's fans can be relieved this is a solid comeback for Mel, because he's been gone way too long.

 

Will the defenders of Roman Polanski condemn Mel Gibson?

Okay, there are some who are "off" Mel Gibson for good because of his off-camera shenanigans and derogatory remarks. The man made his apologies and paid his debt to society. So... "Go with God." That said, Mel may be a sadomasochistic Christian freak, I grant you, but damn ...I mean damn!

Frederick Louis Richardson

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