Blacklight
I don’t think many of us watching “Schindler’s List” or “Rob Roy” or “Michael Collins” in the 1990s would have had it that Liam Neeson would be doing down-the-middle action suspense thrillers for about a decade. That being said, Neeson is very effective in this type of role, so it’s hard to argue with the choice. Still, he does continue to give us rich work every once in a while for things like “Silence” and “Widows” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” you won’t hear any complaining out of me regarding his career.
“Blacklight” begins at a political rally for a firebrand populist politician. She’s someone who has clear support among the masses, and we follow one man (Taylor John Smith) in the crowd. Later that night, she is dropped off at her home by an Uber who stops short of her being able to get out on the side she’s on. That results in her getting run over and killed. Was it just an accident? A reporter following the candidate (Emmy Raver-Lampman) isn’t so sure.
Elsewhere, there are police and locals outside of the trailer of a white supremacist. She’s trapped. In comes Travis Block (Neeson), who is someone who helps get people out of jams. Turns out, she is an undercover agent, and he works for the FBI as someone who tries to help people out of deep cover situations. His boss is the head of the agency (Aidan Quinn), who wants him to stay on, but he has a daughter and granddaughter he wants to spend more time with. When the man from the political rally at the beginning comes into his orbit, leaving might not be so easy.
From there, you might be able to piece together the plot of “Blacklight,” but you may not be prepared for how seemingly abruptly the film seems to wrap up. Before it gets there, though, it’s a solid thriller with some good material for Neeson and the rest of the actors to play. The actors delivering matters, though, because everything else about the film co-written and directed by Mark Williams is instantly forgettable. Because of Neeson and the premise, though, it’s worth checking out for fans of his late-career action trajectory.
