Mad Mel returns in Edge Of Darkness

It's been a good week for Mel Gibson. First, his infamous Jew-hatin' rampage was expunged from his record. Now, the trailer for Edge Of Darkness has been released and everyone has remembered he's an actor.

Edge Of Darkness represents Gibson's return to the world of acting, and is his first leading role in over six years since The Singing Detective, which was the forgettable. Directed by Martin Campbell - he of Casino Royale and GoldenEye fame - it promises to be a return to the kind of intense role that made Gibson such a well-balanced, stable Hollywood idol.

But seriously folks, after Jesus: The Movie and Zany Aztec Adventure, this looks much more like the Mel Gibson of old - the kind of flick he'd make back when he was a real movie star, not just a drunk-driving, racist loon. Why were we even made at him again? It's not like he punched Leona Lewis or anything.

There's definitely a Ransom/Payback vibe here (at one point, Gibson's character actually says, "I'm a man with nothing to lose") but at least the trailer has no ridiculous, reality-defying stunts or crappy thrash-metal music in it. Story looks like coming first, which is quite novel these days.

Also, for what it's worth, the last line of the trailer is fantastic. Welcome back Mel, you crazy, psychotic bastard, you.