Martin Campbell

In Edge of Darkness (1985), Bob Peck makes Ronald Craven's effort to stay composed look exhausting. Campbell gives him time, even as the six-part thriller's nuclear concerns threaten to overwhelm the individual at its centre. We were moved by that effort; Peck makes the danger personal before the story has explained all its implications. Campbell lets us care about Craven before we have understood everything happening around him.

Troy Kennedy Martin's writing sometimes makes the story harder to follow than it needs to be, and Campbell cannot remove that difficulty. What he can do is keep the performances worth attending to while we find our way. Cinematographer Andrew Dunn stays attentive to Peck's unease, while Graeme Thomson's production design never makes the surroundings more interesting than the people. The restraint works because Peck gives us enough to watch without any decorative assistance. The series has the seriousness its subject needs, without making concern for one man seem a distraction.

His British television work through the 1980s led to features including Criminal Law (1988) and No Escape (1994). GoldenEye (1995) introduced Pierce Brosnan's Bond, and The Mask of Zorro (1998) followed, with Antonio Banderas. He returned to Bond for Casino Royale (2006), introducing Daniel Craig in a darker, more grounded film. Those two Bond launches make a persuasive case for his ability to give familiar material a fresh start. We would still put his handling of Peck ahead of that practical achievement.

The mismatched tone of Green Lantern (2011) is a useful caution against assuming that his action skills will suit every sort of spectacle. He continued with action-thrillers including The Foreigner (2017), starring Jackie Chan, Memory (2022) and Cleaner (2025). We would follow him into the genre again, without treating his name as a guarantee. Start with Edge of Darkness, and accept that the writing occasionally asks for more patience than it should.