Blacklight (2022)

Blacklight is at its best when it leans into that old-school, 1970s-style paranoia—the sense that the walls are closing in and the people giving orders might be the ones you should fear most. Liam Neeson brings his familiar gravitas and weary charisma to a fixer who’s done too much in the dark and is finally forced to look at what he’s been protecting, giving the film a sturdier emotional backbone than you might expect from a late-night action thriller. The vibe is brisk and no-nonsense, with cleanly staged chases, shootouts, and a steady drip of conspiracy that keeps you watching to see how far up the chain it goes. It’s not the sharpest or most surprising entry in the genre, but if you have affection for Neeson’s screen presence and enjoy a throwback “trust no one” government thriller, it’s a solid, satisfying watch.

Blacklight wants to be a gritty, morally conflicted conspiracy thriller with Liam Neeson doing the weary-professional thing and a few bursts of PG-13 action to keep the engine running. The problem is it feels like a checklist of familiar beats—shadowy agency, rogue operative, corrupt boss—delivered with heavy exposition and pacing that drifts when it should be tightening the screws. If you’re hoping for sharp writing, real suspense, or characters that go beyond “types,” this will likely play flat and repetitive. But if you just want a low-effort, mid-budget Neeson vehicle with competent chases, clean violence, and a straightforward “good man vs bad system” arc, it’s serviceable background entertainment.