Directed by Mark Williams, Blacklight is an action thriller film starring Liam Neeson, and is the second collaboration between the two since Honest Thief in 2020.
Travis Block (Liam Neeson) is an FBI operative who is looking to escape his past and spend more time with his daughter and granddaughter, but things don’t go exactly to plan when Travis discovers he’s in the middle of a government conspiracy that finds his daughter, Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and granddaughter, Natalie (Gabriella Sengos) are under threat. So, he enlists the help of journalist, Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman) to save his family and put an end to this government conspiracy.
I went into this film expecting it to be your typical Liam Neeson action flick and I wasn’t wrong. I generally enjoy his films, but I felt like this one was a bit lacking in excitement, and the twist and turns of his previous films. Liam Neeson delivers a solid performance as Travis Block, which is to be expected and he even delivers a couple of one-liners, which is nice to see in contrast to when he is at his most intense. Neeson is the obvious star of this film understandably, with the exception of Emmy Raver-Lampman as Mira Jones. However, it does feel like the minor characters are insignificant, which is a real shame as the villain of the film doesn’t feel as threatening as they perhaps could have been.
For an action thriller, it never really feels like the stakes get high. Even as the film progresses, the characters never really feel like they are ever in true danger, which makes it hard for audiences to feel invested or care about them. Blacklight also focuses a lot more on suspense than action, and sadly there is very little character development to help carry this film long as well. Some of the action scenes and car chases do deliver a few exciting moments, but they are few and far between. The story is also a little too predictable. You can see what is going to happen from a mile away, which I found incredibly unsatisfying.
Blacklight is a film that provides very little surprises and doesn’t have too many memorable moments, however, if you enjoy and can find the fun in action films, or specifically classic Liam Neeson action films, then you should definitely give Blacklight a viewing with some popcorn, as there is a good chance that you will enjoy it.
Blacklight is in Australian cinemas now.