Blacklight
Open Road Films (II) | Release Date: February 11, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
8
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 10, 2022
For fans of Neeson as action hero, “Blacklight” may be something of a disappointment, at least measuring it against the yardstick of previous thrillers in this particular branch of the actor’s body of work. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 10, 2022
This particular “Blacklight” is pure, overblown, cliché-riddled fiction. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonFeb 10, 2022
At least Williams displays a bit of inventive flair with novel booby traps and a chase scene that features a lurching garbage truck. Read full review
50
VarietyJoe LeydonFeb 10, 2022
If you approach it with sufficiently lowered expectations, and have fond memories of the ’70s paranoid dramas that obviously inspired director and co-writer Mark Williams, this might be your house-brand jam. Read full review
50
TheWrapTodd GilchristFeb 9, 2022
Blacklight is an unsurprisingly tepid action thriller which extends this odd phase of Neeson’s career, but the best thing that can probably be said about it is that it’s not materially worse than most of the others. Read full review
40
Screen RantDebopriyaa DuttaFeb 11, 2022
There is nothing remarkable or special about Blacklight — it's fairly empty, a boilerplate series of dialogue, action, dialogue. However, it is fun to witness Neeson do what he does so well and lose oneself in the thrilling familiarity of hand-to-hand combat and shootouts. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 11, 2022
Part of the fun of movies like this is the opportunity for the audience to immerse themselves in the procedural minutiae of these worlds, but there’s precious little of that here. Everything is so empty, so incomplete. Blacklight feels like a synopsis waiting for a story. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckFeb 9, 2022
Lacking a high concept or memorable central character, the film is a by-the-numbers actioner that coasts on its star’s soulful gravitas and low-key charisma. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 10, 2022
In terms of storytelling, excitement, and overall entertainment value, Blacklight is a black hole. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 8, 2022
Neeson always gives fair value in these woebegone, quick-and-dirty actioners. But closing in on 70, the fakery meant to show him brawling or driving too fast and what not isn’t that subtle. Read full review
35
SlashfilmJosh SpiegelFeb 9, 2022
It's hard to know whether the challenges of making a rough-and-tumble action movie with Liam Neeson at the helm now stem from age or from making a movie like this during the pandemic. Whatever the explanation is, the result is that Blacklight is a bland way to pass 100 minutes. Read full review
33
UproxxVince ManciniFeb 13, 2022
Blacklight’s filmmakers seem to have spent a lot time trying to figure out why Neeson would have to bonk some heads, and not nearly enough time storyboarding and staging elaborate, gloriously executed head bonks. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleFeb 10, 2022
The kind of low-wattage, paint-by-numbers thriller that usually signifies a perilous turn toward the action purgatory that is cheap, direct-to-nowhere fare. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurFeb 10, 2022
Yet another clunky thriller predicated on having Liam Neeson afford it some form of legitimacy, this Mark Williams-directed film is part political intrigue, part actioner, part family drama – all destined for the bargain bin. Read full review
25
Original-CinLiam LaceyFeb 14, 2022
Neeson maintains a certain doleful dignity as an action star who apparently takes no pleasure in his gift for violence, but Blacklight has little else going for it. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyFeb 11, 2022
Another season, another “Liam Neeson Has Skills” movie. Read full review
25
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckFeb 10, 2022
As for Neeson, what can we say? He could keep doing this ’til he’s 80, but surely there’s something better out there. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubCraig D. LindseyFeb 9, 2022
Blacklight cuts corners everywhere. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineDerek SmithFeb 9, 2022
Instead of elaborating its plot, Blacklight offers up repetitious, dialogue-driven scenes that deliver only the shallowest of exposition, advancing the story at a sluggish pace. Read full review
15
Paste MagazineKatarina DocalovichFeb 11, 2022
Poor writing and direction suffocate Neeson so thoroughly that he can’t be charming, nor weathered, nor any other distinguishable feature; instead, the stalwart of old man action is just an expensive vessel for Williams’ half-baked ideology. Read full review
15
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 9, 2022
Much as I have enjoyed the actor’s embrace of scuzzy revenge-thrillers, he may have hit the point of diminishing returns. Put it this way: Blacklight is a movie that Bruce Willis would deem below his standards. Read full review
0
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternFeb 12, 2022
Blacklight isn’t much of a title. At the very least, though, it provides a useful hint that the movie isn’t much either. One could even argue that it’s not a movie at all, only a rusted-out recycling bin of ill-fitting themes, notions, poses, conventions, affectations, tropes, tropelets and inert snippets of dialogue from other movies. Read full review
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