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It's been eight years since Mel Gibson headlined a film, but his absence has been worth the wait as "Edge of Darkness" is a thrilling drama and a welcome return for one of cinema's top action stars.

The film is based off a popular 1985 British miniseries of the same name where a police detective learns that his activist daughter's death wasn't a botched attempt on his life, but instead a desperate attempt to prevent her from revealing secrets of her job at a nuclear weapon containment facility.

Director Martin Campbell also helmed the miniseries and has proven capable of blending intrigue and action, as shown in "Casino Royale." He does a tremendous job pacing the film and keeping the momentum going as the mystery unfolds.

Gibson ("Signs") stars as Thomas Craven, a Boston Police detective, who is anxiously awaiting a visit from his daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic, "Drag me to Hell"). Upon arriving in Boston, Emma seems slightly on edge, which Craven chalks up to an apparent sickness she seems to have caught. But before he can take her to get it checked out, a masked man shoots her.

Campbell excels at staging these types of shocking moments and works them in just enough to keep the audience on edge without overdoing it.

Ray Winstone ("Beowulf") has a strong supporting role as Jedburgh, a CIA operative tasked with cleaning up the mess resulting from Emma's murder. His scenes with Gibson are some of the film's highlights as Craven and Jedburgh size each other up to determine how serious a threat the other is to them accomplishing their goal.

Despite what the trailers would tease about this being a non-stop action/drama, the film is more of a detective thriller, with the excitement coming as Craven puts together each piece of the puzzle in his daughter's murder. Campbell has Craven doing his due diligence, dealing with such menial tasks as paying tolls and tracking down leads to show that detective work isn't as glamorous as it might appear on TV.

The switch of locations to Massachusetts is a sensible one as it allows Campbell to go from neighborhoods with grimy row houses to beautiful, lush country sides.

The violence that does occur is never excessive or drawn out just for the sake of having wildly absurd shoot-outs, where a seemingly unbeatable Superman can take on hordes of enemies without a scratch.

Instead, Campbell adheres to the less-is-more strategy for his action scenes, which serves to amp up the intensity and makes them far more effective and realistic.

When Craven is pursued by two thugs, his immediate thought isn't to shift into "action-hero" mode, but to outthink them by disabling their vehicle or getting some help from his fellow officers. If he needs to use his gun, he doesn't spend a lot of time bobbing and weaving for cover, but takes the most efficient killing shot possible.

Craven is not on a shooting spree, nor does he spout any corny one-liners. Oscar winning screenwriter William Monahan ("The Departed") doesn't write Craven like a super detective, just a capable man pushed to his limits. There's not a trace of the stereotypical action hero.

Gibson is fascinating here as he offers an earnest, stripped down performance. Craven might not be what he used to — after a fight, he might slump against a wall to catch his breath — but he is still capable of getting the job done.

One bit that doesn't work as well as intended is occasional moments throughout the film where Craven interacts with Emma in part flashbacks/part hallucinations. It makes sense considering Craven doesn't allow himself much time to grieve but it is jarring to the otherwise linear format.

"Edge of Darkness" is the kind of throwback thriller that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats and with a quality character like Gibson's Craven to follow, it's an enjoyable ride.

Edge of Darkness

R, Action, 117 minutes

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, Damian Young and Caterina Scorsone

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars