Blacklight; Grade: D
Blacklight tells a story about a government operative Travis Block (Liam Neeson) whom is trying to prevent another being from disclosing some top secret information after his politician girlfriend was tragically murdered by what could’ve been caused by Travis’ agency. As Travis tries to do what he can so this man can not only disclose the information but to also secure safety of his life, Travis starts coming to his senses that maybe he’s not helping the good guys out after all, as he hopes to not only leave the agency behind to be a better grandfather, but to also bring some justice as well.
It’s a Friday afternoon, coming off a long busy week, as I’m extremely exhausted lacking energy. I was going to see the new romance film Marry Me, but then I thought to myself: Maybe that’s not the best way to go about trying to gain energy. Maybe this new action packed Liam Neeson film is exactly what I need, to recharge myself a bit, so I don’t feel tired anymore. Well Blacklight… Didn’t do that for me at all, in fact I was having a tough time keeping myself awake.
The story of Blacklight of course feels very familiar from past Liam Neeson action films you’ve seen a thousand times over. The difference between those past films is at least there’s something there in terms of entertainment value with those films, while with Blacklight it’s honestly a very bland and dull watch. Sure there’s action sequences here and there, however the story that’s being told is so uninteresting that it really felt like sitting through a lullaby… Like it’s so damn boring.
The Cinematography t’was bad as well, there’s a ton of poor shots in this film. Sometimes it’s hard to make of the action sequences because it’s shot very poorly, as well as some sequences it’s shot in such an odd angle that doesn’t fit the screen or you can’t tell exactly why it’s shot the way it was?! Followed by atrocious editing all due to the fact Travis has some kind of disorder, which not only is that aspect poorly developed, but it doesn’t justify why it had to be edited like a Saw film.
Liam Neeson didn’t seem to care too much about this performance, as you can sense the lack of energy he has put into this performance. I mean there’s one action sequence that you can clearly tell the effort is not there from Neeson’s end… I mean if he doesn’t care too much for these roles, why doesn’t he go for more roles like Cold Pursuit or even Ordinary Love which weren’t released not too long ago. The character Travis Block yes you see this character in every Liam Neeson action film, but the disorder aspect… Kind of feels inaccurate as it isn’t consistent.
Honestly the best part of this entire film for me: The opening, more so being unintellionally funny. Especially the introduction of Travis Block, driving along a highway… It’s so damn funny because it goes on for two minutes, as you’re wondering why it takes it’s time with this car commercial like sequence.
Overall, Blacklight is a bad film. I don’t recommend this film, sheesh when am I going to see a good film that was released in 2022 in theaters?! Other than Belle: Theatrical releases have been ROUGH in 2022. I got my energy back afterwards by hanging with a few pals at Dave and Busters, where I defeated them in Air Hockey, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Dance Dance Revolution… Da Boy got skills. I did get beaten in the Race Car game though, t’was a nice time and the first time I hanged with people in Florida other than my family for once. -Mitch Smietana