Liam Neeson is an action star with a certain set of skills: he can drive fast, punch hard and emote with a depth that makes his shenanigans seem inspired by Ingmar Bergman. In ‘Blacklight’, Mark Williams’ quirky but mediocre thriller, Neeson plays an unusual agent who takes secret orders directly from the FBI Director (Aidan Quinn), a power-crazed, old-guard bureaucrat who is annoyed that he can confess to being love for J. Edgar Hoover without triggering ‘politically correct puppets’.
“Blacklight” begins with the murder of a charismatic, Twitter-addicted politician (Mel Jarnson) who appears to have been seemingly (and uncomfortably) cloned by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, then pulls out well-known action movie characters. A brave reporter (Emmy Raver-Lampman) smells conspiracy. A heroic G-man (Tim Draxl) runs away from cronies who suspect he’s flipped. The twist in the screenplay (written by Nick May and Williams, the director) is that the story sticks to the point of view of Neeson’s naive brute, who in a regular movie would be an unnamed one in the third act. “Am I the right man?” he asks. Not really, not even for his estranged daughter (Claire van der Boom), who is stunned that her father arrives at his little granddaughter’s birthday party with a gift-wrapped stun gun—a comedic prank that stumbles through a viscous piano score and Neeson’s adamant gravity . After that muddled early scene, the film wavers between subverting the genre and obeying convention. At least Williams shows a bit of inventive flair with new booby traps and a chase scene with a swinging garbage truck.
black light
Rated PG-13 for faint swearing and faint shooting. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes. In theatres.
