Blacklight (2022)

Blacklight (2022)

 3/10

Starring

Liam Neeson

Emmy Raver-Lampman

Taylor John Smith

Aidan Quinn

 

Directed by Mark Williams

 

Blacklight has been panned by critics, with some calling it one of the worst things to see on screen. While I don’t agree that it’s the absolute worst, I can confidently say it’s pretty bad.

For me, the movie felt like a poor attempt at recreating an episode of the Jim Caviezel series Person of Interest. It shares a similar theme: a guy called upon by someone higher up to help people who find themselves in trouble, whether by their own doing or through bad luck. The difference here is that our guy, Travis (Liam Neeson), is an FBI fixer tasked with helping undercover agents when they get into a jam.

The film felt like an overly long 20-minute short story. The dialogue was weak, the fight scenes were laughable, and it drove home the unfortunate fact that Liam Neeson is too old for this kind of role. His movements were stiff, and honestly, the movie might have worked better in the hands of a younger actor. That said, would I have watched it if Liam Neeson wasn’t on the poster? Probably not, and I guess that’s why he was cast.

To delve deeper into the plot: Travis is assigned to "fix" a situation involving an undercover agent, Crane, who seems to have gone rogue. Crane had approached a reporter, claiming to have evidence that the FBI boss, Robinson, was killing civilians. Initially, the details of this meeting or evidence aren’t clear. Travis first encounters Crane after he’s arrested for beating up four police officers. When Travis interrogates him, Crane insists that Robinson is involved in civilian killings.

Crane manages to escape from Travis and plans to take the evidence to the press. When Robinson learns about this, he sends his men to silence Crane. Meanwhile, Travis, unaware of Robinson’s true intentions, is still focused on finding Crane and bringing him back to Robinson.

When Travis finally catches up with Crane, it leads to one of the most lackluster fight scenes I’ve ever seen. Crane is killed right in front of Travis, who narrowly escapes being killed himself. This marks the turning point, as Travis confronts Robinson, only to find his own life in danger.

The plot is weak, the stakes feel overblown, and the villain’s motives are so vague that the movie doesn’t even bother to properly explain them. I honestly think this film would have worked better with a smaller budget. If it had been a B-movie or a direct-to-video release, there would have been fewer expectations and, therefore, fewer reasons to complain. But with a $43 million budget (not counting marketing) and a theatrical release, this movie is nothing short of a disappointment. By the end, you’ll be left wondering where all that money went.

And can I just say: bad guys keeping incriminating evidence of their evil deeds in safes is a tired trope I’m completely fed up with.