Mel Gibson is angry. No, I’m not talking about his DUI run-ins or nasty divorce. I’m referring to his latest thriller, “Edge of Darkness,” where he plays a Boston cop out to revenge the death of his daughter.

But ol’ Mel has added reasons to be miffed. Liam Neeson did the vengeful father role better in “Taken.” And Clint Eastwood did the nothing-left-to-lose guy better in “Gran Torino.”

The erstwhile Mad Max is running a few steps behind when it comes to choosing his scripts. Easy to get sloppy when you’ve personally made more that $400 million from directing “The Passion of The Christ.”

However, “Edge of Darkness” has little in common with Mel’s Easter movie other than a random quip about driving nails in a cross. A bit of, uh, overkill.

Here Gibson plays a homicide detective investigating the death of his activist daughter. In the process, he stumbles onto mysterious cover-ups and government chicanery.

You can catch this cop-versus-the-government flick at the Carmike 12 and Greenville Grande theaters.

This is a remake. The original “Edge of Darkness” was a BBC miniseries that ran for six episodes in the mid-1980s and was set in London. It was directed by Martin Campbell, who also helms this new version. Campbell has given us two James Bond films and two Zorro westerns, so he knows how to deliver action.

“Edge of Darkness” was set to be Gibson’s comeback film, the megastar having had trouble finding roles since making those anti-Semitic remarks during his DUI arrest a couple of years ago.

He’s already run into trouble. Co-star Robert De Niro walked off the set of “Edge of Darkness” after one week’s shooting, citing “creative differences.” Ray Winstone hastily filled the role of a CIA agent trying to sweep nasty secrets under the rug.

Gibson makes light of it all. He says his return to acting after a six-year absence is “kinda like riding a bicycle.” No biggie.

“Time away gives you time to think and focus,” he says.

He doesn’t want to admit that his career is on the edge of darkness. Can’t blame him for being a little angry. At himself.

Shirrel Rhoades is a media/marketing consultant based in Key West, Fla. Contact him at srhoades@aol.com.