Blacklight
Liam Neeson is almost as bored as the audience in this plodding thriller
If Liam Neeson lowers the bar anymore for his cinematic endeavors, his next film will be called Limbo. This jumbled mess of lazy writing, bored acting, and questionable filmmaking choices can still technically be called a movie, but it is pretty bold to release this in theaters during a pandemic and expect viewers to pay to watch it.
Director Mark Williams (The Honest Thief) is clearly working on a budget, but still somehow finds time to throw obnoxious jump edits into the movie every time he wants to emphasize an action or a visual. The frame jumps, flashes white, and jumps again. It’s a headache-inducing technique that Michael Bay uses more effectively and sparingly.
A movie made on a tight budget might be forgiven if it had a story to tell. Sadly, Blacklight has about five stories to tell and fails to really explain any of them. The screenplay, partially written by former U.S. Justice Department Attorney Nick May (in his debut), doesn’t seem to have a grasp on undercover work, the FBI, the basic rules of newspaper reporting, or the principles of storytelling. Think of it as Tom Clancy novel with a concussion.
