Bullet Points: Blacklight

Blacklight will be released in theaters on February, 11th 2022 from Briarcliff Entertainment. 

• Grandpa Action: The quintessential Old Man of Action, Liam Neeson is back once again with Blacklight. I could have sworn I’ve been writing for years that Liam will retire from making action movies. He keeps talking about retirement, but I keep reviewing his action movies. In Blacklight, Liam stars as Travis Block, which is actually a two-syllable first name: A syllable up from Mike (The Ice Road), Jim (The Marksman), and Tom (Honest Thief).  Travis works off the books for the Director of the FBI (Aiden Quinn). Travis is a clean up guy. The fella you call when you want something done, but you don’t want anyone to find out about it. He specializes in keeping the Undercover FBI Agents in check. When one Agent goes rogue, Travis will soon discover not all is what it appears., and what happens when this has a direct impact on his daughter and granddaughter? Blacklight is co-written and directed by Mark Williams. (Honest Thief)

• Aussie: Blacklight was filmed in Almost Washington D.C., Australia. That’s something you don’t see all the time. We see a lot of Almost USA, Canada action films, but Blacklight decided to take the production Down Under. This could be why a lot of the actors are Australian. 
• Divisive: Blacklight doesn’t hide its politics. In a divided world, sometimes you don’t want politics shoved down your throat. Blacklight leans to the left, and to be honest, I could care less about the politics if the action distracts me from whatever message the movie is trying to push. When I was getting ready to watch Blacklight, I thought I was getting another popcorn action movie from Liam Neeson, and not a movie that reminded me of my Twitter feed this past weekend. 
• The Action: Blacklight is at its best when there’s a chase scene. There’s fast cars, and a pretty damn cool garbage truck chase. The problem with the action is Liam is never in any real danger. I kept waiting for a moment that would try to make you think Liam was in trouble. I never got that feeling of peril. I expected more from a Liam Neeson flick. Blacklight feels more DTV action than a movie released at the movies. I guess they spent all the 40 million dollar budget on the garbage truck? 

• Final Verdict: Blacklight is a step sideways in the continuing action career of Liam Neeson. Everyone deserves a mulligan, and I hope Liam gets back on track with his next effort, Memory. Also, don’t have a version of “In the Air Tonight” in your trailer, and not have it in your movie. That’s just wrong on so many levels. 
• Grade: C