Travis Block is a government operative coming to terms with his shadowy past. When he discovers a plot targeting U.S. citizens, Block finds himself in the crosshairs of the FBI director he once helped protect.
Ever since “Taken” catapulted Liam Neeson into the action movie stratosphere in 2008, he has not looked back. On top of that, he acquired a new fanbase because of his “particular set of skills” as he was known predominantly as a dramatic actor, thanks to his roles in movies such as “Schindler’s List,” “Nell,” “Husbands and Wives,” and “Michael Collins.”
In “Blacklight,” Neeson plays Travis Block, an FBI agent who rescues deep-cover operatives who are beginning to crack under the pressure of living a double life. After rescuing one of Block’s young protégés, Dusty (Taylor John Smith), Block is caught off guard when Dusty informs him that he no longer believes in the FBI because they are killing innocent people. Naturally, Block thinks the strain of the job has gotten to him but soon thereafter, Dusty turns up dead, and Block starts to put the pieces together. When all fingers point to his old friend and boss, Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn), a man he has known since they served together in Vietnam, he questions Gabriel but is quickly shut down and told to mind his own business. Not long after, Block’s daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom) and granddaughter Natalie (Gabriella Sengos) disappear, and now Block must formulate a plan to take down Gabriel and rescue his family.
Since “Taken” and its two less-than-stellar sequels, Neeson has made a lot of action films, some good – “Unknown,” “The Grey,” “Non-Stop,” and some not so good – “Cold Pursuit,” “Honest Thief,” “The Marksman,” but he has managed to keep busy in a genre that is typically overrun by much younger actors and I love that he has no desire to slow down. Not everyone can be Captain America or James Bond, sometimes, we need a regular guy to take on the bad guys and make the action and drama believable. Neeson has always brought an abundance of onscreen charisma to every character he plays and “Blacklight” is no different, it’s just in the film’s final act that the script evolves into a tiresome exercise in futility, and everything good that preceded it is thrown out in favor of stereotypical character development administered to most generic action films, and uninspiring chase scenes and action set-pieces.
“Blacklight” starts off with an intriguing premise about a man who helps rescue agents who after living a double life for so long, need help getting out and readjusting to normal life. I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the movie and hoped that the remainder of the narrative would follow suit but once the conspiracy theories begin, what originated as a creative concept, quickly spirals into conventionality, and loses all its earlier creativeness. Aidan Quinn is that rare actor who can play both good guys and bad guys convincingly and here, he gives enough menace and intimidation that you truly want to see him get his comeuppance but even that element of the film is wasted in favor of a neat and tidy denouement, allowing our hero to save the day and walk off into the sunset. The cast, overall, give fine performances, it’s just a pity that Nick May’s promising screenplay segues into characterless and uneventful proportions.
In Theaters Friday, February 11th
