‘Blacklight’ Review: A Dull Political Action Thriller

Liam Neeson is one again teaming up with director Mark Williams for another action thriller. This time instead of a reformed bank robber like in Honest Thief, Neeson is playing a reformed government fixer in Blacklight. It’s a new coat of paint for the same dull and lackluster story we’ve seen Neeson sign onto in recent years. I sure hope he is having fun doing these roles, because they are not that fun to watch. Blacklight is a political action thriller that fails to thrill at every level.

Travis Block (Neeson) works as a government fixer, a highly trained operative whose job is to extract undercover agents out of dangerous situations using whatever means necessary. For years he’s followed orders without hesitation, but after discovering information about a secretive program called Operation Unity that is targeting civilians, he starts questioning the morals of himself and the people he works for. Getting out isn’t going to be easy, however, and with his family in jeopardy it’s going to take all his talents to bring this shadowy organization out into the light.

There’s nothing wrong with the concept of Blacklight, but the film’s execution is nearly unbearable. The film starts off in the most confounding way with Neeson rescuing a fellow undercover agent. There’s no setup to who he is or what he does. He just casually strolls into a trailer park and creates a distraction by blowing up some angry white guy’s trailer so he can rescue an agent. It takes about 30 minutes to figure out just the slightest bit about who Travis Block is, and even then it’s nothing good.

Block is not a good person. The first half of the film he is trying to get to fellow agent Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith). Crane has information regarding Operation Unity and decided to contact a journalist to blow the whole thing wide open. Block is tasked with bringing him in, no questions asked. He blindly follows orders going so far as to intimidate and threaten the journalist. Only when he sees Crane get killed by other, more evil agents, does Block have a change of heart, if you can call it that. Blacklight wants you to root for him, but makes it terribly difficult to find any reason why. He wants to retire and become a family man but struggles to put forth the effort. Sure, he’s great at teaching his granddaughter where the exits to any building are or how to be on the lookout for strangers, but when it comes to showing up he’s conveniently tied up in work. Of course all that changes when his government employer gets involved with his family.

All of this plot feels like it could have been covered in the first act, but it takes nearly half of the film to cover that ground. Blacklight moves at a snails pace, casting as wide a net as possible with its focus. It doesn’t help that at nearly 70-years-old, Liam Neeson isn’t the most spry action hero around anymore. He no doubt looks and acts good for his age, but he struggles to carry the action film on his shoulders. Action scenes feel slow and plenty of quick cuts hide and mask the fighting choreography. Everything looks and feels generic as the plot rolls along a rail with little twists or turns. It’s a predictable snoozefest, with no redemption in sight.

Blacklight is a dull political action thriller that starts off weak and only gets weaker as the film goes on. Liam Neeson is no doubt a talented actor, but his talents are severely wasted here.