Blacklight

Summary

Fourteen years ago, Liam Neeson surprised filmgoers with his turn as an action hero as Bryan Mills in the Luc Besson film Taken. Like everyone, I loved it. It felt like Neeson had been born to play this type of role, and watching him dispatch bad guys in search of his daughter who was facing danger from sex traffickers was thrilling. Over the last fourteen years, the studios have essentially tried their best to repackage that film in Liam Neeson vehicles with varying success. Neeson still seemingly has surprises up his sleeve, and if you don’t believe me, please watch Cold Pursuit which I considered one of the most unusual and enjoyable black comedy thrillers I had seen in some time when it was released in 2019. Unfortunately, Blacklight is one of the least surprising films I have seen in a long time. 

The plot of the film revolves around specialized operative Travis Block (Liam Neeson.) Travis works off the books for the head of the F.B.I. – Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn.) He is sent in by Gabriel whenever an operative goes so far undercover that he needs to be brought in. Travis looks at his job as saving the souls of the good agents that he retrieves. Travis also is attempting to find his way into the lives of his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and granddaughter Natalie. They have been at odds because of his obsessive compulsive nature and his overwhelming paranoia. As the film begins, an aspiring political candidate named Sofia Flores (Mel Jarnson) gives a speech to a crowd. When she is dropped off by her driver in front of her residence, a car careens into her and she dies from the hit and run. The men involved in her death obviously were working together to kill her. News reporter Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman) believes that this was an intentional murder. Outside the news agency where Mira works, F.B.I. Operative Dusty Crane is apprehended by the police for having a gun out on the seat of his car. He beats numerous officers before being taken in. Travis is sent by Gabriel to bring in Dusty. Dusty explains that the bureau has crossed the line. On the way to bring him in, Travis stops to pick up his granddaughter and Dusty escapes. Dusty makes his way towards meeting up with Mira and explains to Mira that the F.B.I. has begun targeting innocent civilians. When Dusty is gunned down by two F.B.I. Operatives, Travis begins to suspect that maybe something is going on. He begins to work with Mira to uncover the truth.

It is never good when a performance by an actor unintentionally veers into self parody. Watching Neeson ask the villain of the film where he can find his granddaughter reminds the viewer of the film immediately of Neeson asking where his daughter was in the film Taken. Once again, Neeson is a man with “certain skills,” who compulsively worries about the safety of his family. Is Neeson perfect casting for this role? Of course, but that is only because he already made this movie before, and it was better the first time around. The problem with Blacklight is that every aspect of the script is unsurprising. Every “twist” is broadcasted from the opening sequences. If you think you know where the film is going… trust me… you do. The film tries to make up for the stilted dialogue and obvious plot trajectory through some frenetic editing moments, but these moments fall extremely flat. I can’t fault the cast of the picture for how boring this film feels, but I can fault the script itself. I am always happy to watch Aidan Quinn act, but the script does not give him a single interesting line. I also think that the cinematography of the film by Shelly Johnson was attractive, but the editing did not seem to know what to do with it. I also thought that the pairing of Neeson with Emmy Raver-Lampman yielded no chemistry whatsoever. The script occasionally will try to mention some background to a character like that Mira came from a wealthy family but had changed her name to make it on her own. These small uninteresting facts that characters drop fail to make the characters interesting. If you watch the movie, you will get what I am talking about. I don’t want to be overly critical, but I would recommend skipping this film unless you are just dead-set on watching Liam Neeson repeat himself again. In that case, just rewatch Taken.

Video

Blacklight has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Blacklight was shot on an Arri Alexa LF 4K camera with digital film and the mastering of the film was performed in 4K. For fans of the film, the Blu-ray seems to be a solid way to experience this film. The cinematography by Shelly Johnson is one of the best aspects of the film, but I can’t imagine the UHD format being a huge jump forward from the Blu-ray. 

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is a well done representation of the filmmaker’s intent. The track is occasionally energetic and immersive, although it is not that exciting simply because of the film’s editing. Clarity is very good. Fans of the picture will be pleased.

Supplements:

• Blacklight: Behind the Scenes 
• Shooting Blacklight 

Overall Scores:

Video: 4.25/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Supplements: 1/5

Overall – 2.5/5

Blacklight is a competently filmed and competently acted movie that falls flat due to an uninventive plot, weak editing, and mediocre dialogue. I hate that this film feels like Liam Neeson performing self parody, but there was no real reason for this film to be made. If you are considering watching this film, watch Taken instead. It is a much better film. The Universal Pictures Blu-ray features good video and audio, so fans will have no reason to avoid a purchase.