Travis Block (Liam Neeson) is an off-the-books fixer who works directly for FBI director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn), helping to extract deep cover agents who have gone astray, and get them the care they need to re-enter society. Though Gabe is more concerned with making sure these agents don’t become a PR nightmare for the Bureau. After 20 years on the job, Travis is ready to retire so that he can spend more time with his daughter (Claire van der Boom, Hawaii Five-0) and granddaughter. However, Gabe isn’t too keen on letting his friend go, and sends Travis on a mission to bring in Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith, Sharp Objects), an agent who has gone rogue, looking to become a whistleblower for atrocities being committed within the government. After contacting journalist Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman, The Umbrella Academy) to tell his story, Dusty finds himself being hunted down by two government agents trying to silence him, as well as Travis, who just wants to get him help. While Travis always thought of himself as one of the good guys, he soon suspects that the folks he works for are trying to cover up an operation within the government that’s targeting and killing innocent civilians. Travis teams up with Mira to investigate and reveal the truth, but this puts himself and his family in danger.
Blacklight is yet another film that finds Neeson playing a man with a very particular set of skills trying to take down the bad guys. Though this time around his character is a bit more subdued, with killing being off the menu for Travis—though he’ll still crack a few bones if necessary. Travis genuinely wants to help the agents he rescues from their deep cover situations, and believes that he is doing the right thing, despite the off-the-books nature of his job being a little suspicious. He himself served in Vietnam and had his own traumatic experience there. Travis now suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, always needing to check the locks three times, or have his closet organized just so, or the beer bottles in his fridge properly lined up. His daughter is concerned that Travis may be passing on his affliction and paranoia to his granddaughter, who does hourly lock checks at her home, and adds pictures of lurking strangers into to her drawings of the family. Travis wants to spend more time with his granddaughter, but this has caused concern for his daughter. Old habits die hard, and Travis’ work is constantly getting in the way, causing him to fail to come through on promises and disappoint his daughter and granddaughter. Neeson is perfectly fine in this role, effortlessly switching between the caring, charming family man and tough action star, but it’s one we’ve seen him in so many times at this point, making these films feel like a dime a dozen.
Emmy Raver-Lampman makes a nice addition to the story, as the ambitious journalist who’s not taken seriously by her boss (Tim Draxl). She has her own complicated past and is out to prove herself. Breaking Dusty’s story and this government conspiracy could be a big win for her career, but Mira isn’t aware of just how dangerous of a situation she’s getting herself into. While Mira is initially a bit wary of Travis, she and her coworker (Yael Stone, Orange is the New Black) soon realize they’re going to need to team up with Travis if they’re going to make it through this alive.
Blacklight finds a nice blend between tense thriller/mystery, exciting action sequences, and engaging character drama, though it can feel a little slow at times. While some of the twists in the story are a tad predictable, it was still entertaining to watch it play out. There are also some incredible action sequences, such as a car chase in a garbage truck, and a tense face-off in the film’s final act. The film also explores Travis’ struggle to improve his work-life balance in order to form a better relationship with his daughter and granddaughter. The relationship between Travis and his daughter feels very natural and realistic, leading to some fun banter between them. I enjoyed the film overall, but it didn’t really feel like it was breaking any new ground, especially with Neeson playing this type of role for the umpteenth time. Also, I didn’t really care this strange visual aesthetic that recurs occasionally throughout the film where the picture will randomly flash and stutter. I couldn’t tell if this was trying to signify something, such as mirroring Travis’ need to do things three times, but it was more distracting than anything else.
Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds quite good. The picture is clean and clear, with a solid level of detail throughout, even in the fast-paced action sequences. The film’s visual effects are blended seamlessly into the picture—I never would have even guessed the extent to which visual effects had been utilized if not for the making-of featurette included on this release. The audio track provides clear dialogue as well as an immersive soundtrack that brings the action to life. This is especially noticeable in the sounds of the crowd at a rally that opens the movie, and as bullets whiz by during the exciting final act of the film.
The Blu-ray and DVD discs come packed on either side of a standard HD keepcase with a carboard slipcover. The release also contains an insert with a code to redeem for an HD Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the the film. Both the Blu-ray & DVD discs contain the same bonus material, two short but interesting behind-the-scenes featurettes totaling just about five and a half minutes.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:44:44)
-
Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
DVD:
Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2023):
Extras:
The bonus feature can be found on both discs.
- Blacklight: Behind the Scenes (2:47)
The cast and writer/director discuss the premise of the film, the characters, and what it was like working with Liam Neeson. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/ director Mark Williams, and stars Liam Neeson (“Travis Block”), Emmy Raver-Lampman (“Mira Jones”) & Taylor John Smith (“Dusty Crane”). - Shooting Blacklight (2;37)
Narrated promotional featurette that looks at the people involved in making the movie, and some of the cutting-edge technology used to bring the action to life. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, examples of how visual effects were utilized, and interviews with director Mark Williams, producer/director Paul Currie & second unit director/stunt coordinator Guy Norris.
Final Thoughts:
Blacklight is the latest film featuring Liam Neeson in a Taken-like role to hit home video. It features an interesting-enough storyline and characters, but feels very similar to several other Neeson films of recent years (though this time around his character is not a killer, so there’s far less gore). Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but only includes a very minimal amount of bonus material (though the behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects is quite interesting). If you’re up for another Liam Neeson thriller with a some nice action sequences, and a little more character drama, then Blacklight is worth a look.
