Blacklight
"Blacklight" is the Bud Light of Liam Neeson actioneers.
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There’s so much product placement in “Blacklight” (now in theaters) that it almost feels like the prolonged advertising gag in “Wayne’s World.” Dodge, Diet Pepsi, Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, Bud Light … each brand gets its close-up. The inclusion of Bud Light feels particularly apropos as “Blacklight” is essentially the light beer of Liam Neeson actioneers. It’s fine I suppose if you’re thirsty for such things, but it’s also a tad flat and lacks fizz.
Neeson stars as Travis Block, an FBI fixer who pulls undercover agents out of sticky situations. Block reports to FBI Director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn), a friend with whom he served in Vietnam. Block’s flirting with retirement so he can spend more time with his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and granddaughter Natalie (Gabriella Sengos). He wants to right the wrongs he made as a husband and father by being a good grandfather.
Retirement will have to wait however as rising gubernatorial candidate and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez proxy Sofia Flores (Mel Jarnson) has been assassinated and it appears as though the hit was orchestrated by the highest echelons of the FBI. Block has been tasked with capturing rogue agent Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith) who’s threatening to leak the Flores story to the press – namely inquisitive reporter Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman). It’ll be up to Block to protect Crane and Jones from FBI hitters Jordan Lockhart (Andrew Shaw) and Wallace (Zac Lemons) and get to the truth of the matter.
Neeson is fine and does his requisite best as Block. He can do this sort of thing in his sleep by this point, but he still seems engaged enough. (Though I will admit it was disconcerting when Block gifted his 5-year-old granddaughter a Taser for her birthday … more the fault of writers Nick May and Mark Williams than Neeson himself.)
Williams, co-creator of Netlfix’s “Ozark,” also directs the picture. He’s been in the Neeson business a lot of late having also written, produced and directed 2020’s “Honest Thief” and produced last year’s “The Marksman.” “Blacklight” doesn’t reach the not-so-lofty heights of those efforts, but it does have its fair share of visceral action peppered in amongst countless scenes of domestic strife. There are two pretty decent car chases (even if it’s ridiculous to believe Block’s Challenger and a Porsche couldn’t dust a trash truck and an SUV), instances of cool hand-to-hand and shooting skirmishes and I did get a jolt out of watching Block blow up some hillbilly’s trailer adorned with the Confederate flag.
I struggled to remember much of “Blacklight” when writing this review (some of that might be attributable to the Delta-8 edible I dosed myself with yesterday morning), but it’s much more likely the movie itself and that’s pretty damning considering I watched the damned thing last night. If you’re in the mood for a lazy throwback to 1990s action-thrillers, you can wait until this one hits its predestined locations of Redbox and the Walmart discount DVD bin as opposed to trekking out to a theater. I’m sure it’ll go great with a coupla Bud Lights and some Domino’s Pizza.