Liam Neeson's new movie makes for some painful viewing

Sure, he still has the dead-eyed look of a tough guy hero/antihero, a veritable Steven Seagal, but with acting skills and a better accent.

Mindless violence Pulse

However, he seems to be churning out as much schlock as Bruce Willis did before the latter unceremoniously quit acting due to a medical condition.

In his latest offering called Blacklight, Neeson’s second movie done with director Mark Williams after Honest Thief, one gets the feeling that he is doing more of the same in order to earn a quick payday.

Here, Neeson stars as Travis Block, a freelancer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), that’s America’s Internal Security Organisation.

His job description is simple: he extracts undercover agents when they find themselves sinking below the surface of their Deep Cover.

In brief, he saves them from the trouble they face when it is discovered that they are spies.

Things get real fast, but that doesn't help Pulse

Block (not short for Blockhead) uses his special set of skills to rescue agents from perilous situations only to uncover the corruption that lies within the FBI.

“In hindsight, I suspect I made a poor career choice,” says Block when he realises this corruption.

Block then teams up with an investigative journalist to uncover the mystery behind the death of a whistleblower who used to be an FBI agent.

The look of a man who has run out of ideas Pulse

However, they accomplish nothing beyond making you realise that Blacklight is a mediocre movie.

The plot is linear to a degree that any subplots vanish under the weight of a one-trick pony action storyline which tramples violently upon any meaningful dialogue.

Neeson always seems to be on the verge of saying, “I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."

However, this attempt is continuously abbreviated by his limited screen charisma these days.