2 out of 5

Director: Martin Campbell

This was a long 108 minutes. Cop Thomas Craven (Gibson) welcomes home his visiting daughter who works for an energy facility. They exchange pleasantries but then she gets a nosebleed…! And vomits! And says Dad I have to tell you something, while Gibson rushes them out the door to take her to a doctor. Oh, and then a masked thug drives up, yells Craven, and blasts Gibsons daughter dead with a shotgun. The explanation is trite, but Ill give the movie credit: the opening is shot with a gripping sense of sternness and movement. It amped me up for a gritty thoughtful action flick, hopefully in the vein of director Martin Campbells Casion Royale. Alas, it slows to a drizzle after this. The police are sure that the gunman meant to hit Craven and shot the daughter accidentally. But Gibson digs deeper and starts to suspect they might have been after his little girl after all… There are government conspiracies, and a whose-side-are-you-on gunman (Ray Winstone), and some really cool moments of exchanges between seasoned actors, but it all has this very tired feel to it. Some pops and whizzes and explosions at key times, but otherwise Mel just goes from one scene to the next, chugging the movie along as best he can. (I sort of wish he hadnt gotten embroiled in the media with his personal matters, because itd be nice to see him in more roles like this.) Anyhow, I was glad everyone tried a Boston accent and that no cops turned out to be secret bad guys. The movie plays it straight, which is nice nowadays, but also means it offers no real surprises.