Late-blooming action star Liam Neeson is still mixing it up with well-trained terrorists and shady government agents almost fifteen years after his breakout action hit Taken (prior to that he still had ambitions in serious films like The Bounty, Schindler’s List and Rob Roy).  Neeson turned 70 this year and is still kicking ass and “saving souls” in Blacklight, although his character is a grandfather and he is now at least acknowledging his age and physical limitations.  Even he has questioned how long he can continue to be an action star, but the roles keep coming to him and he keeps accepting them.

Mark Williams’ story centers on a shady government agent named Travis Block (Neeson), who specializes in rescuing other agents from dire straits when they get into trouble they cannot handle, have their covers blown or simply cannot function anymore.  He tries to rescue Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith), who is having a crisis of conscience and, for once, he fails.  Pressure to cover Dusty’s tracks and keep the incident quiet lead Travis into unfamiliar territory with moral conundrums.  Soon he is a target himself, and he has to employ his special set of skills to survive.

I think conspiracy theories are born and thrive because of movies like this; the proof is in the viewing.  Things aren’t what they seem and no one can be trusted — it’s no wonder that people question everything they see and hear any more.  The film does a decent job of beginning with one perspective and slowly moving toward another, but once we know things are awry then the real story becomes obvious and inevitable.  Not to mention interminable, with one confrontation lasting endless minutes before it ends with a shocking conclusion.  Ultimately, the exercise simply becomes tiresome.

Director Williams makes some missteps toward the end, when confrontational scenes either end abruptly without believable resolution or public scenes of violence occur without any hint of consequence.  Perhaps this is because the film, ostensibly set around Washington D. C., was actually filmed in Australia, or maybe it’s because the writers were lazy or schedules were tight and planned shots were lost.  In any case the film is choppy towards the finish and it seems to rush to its reconciliation.  Neeson is still quite convincing as a tough guy, but he needs to find better scripts to make it fun for the audience to enjoy the mayhem along with him.  ☆ ☆.  28 August 2022.