Blackout review

Blackout plays out like any number of Liam Neeson action movies with the ridiculous level cranked up a few notches just for fun. I’m pretty sure it’s not a great or even that good a film, but it is goofily entertaining and sometimes that’s good enough for an action film.

With Neeson nearing the end of his credibility as an action star it was time for a new actor to step up and take on all the roles Neeson can’t any longer. Enter a very game and eager Josh Duhamel.

Duhamel (Jupiter’s Legacy) originally showed of his action hero chops in Michael Bay’s Transformers films. He’s got the presence and weathered, rugged looks to believably pull off a dude beaten down scores of goons and minions.

He stars as Cain, a man that wakes up in a hospital bed with no clue of his identity. At his bedside is Anna, (Abbie Cornish. The Virtuoso), a woman claiming to be his wife. She’s joined by Eddie (Omar Chaparro), Cain’s alleged best friend who clearly is a shady dude. Cain starts getting suspicious of his predicament just as some of Eddie’s armed goons try to take him out.

While unsure if he can trust her, Cain takes Anna with him as he navigates the hospital trying to stay one step ahead of Eddie’s endless array of hired guns. And a check of his wallet provides the number of DEA agent Ethan McCoy (Nick Nolte, The Mandalorian), who might actually have a way out of all this for Cain.

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Screenwriter Van B. Nguyen (Blue Bloods) does exactly break new ground with the amnesiac hero premise. Restricting most of the action to a hospital with seemingly very few patients with minimal character development doesn’t make for the most compelling script.

Nguyen does do an excellent job of making all the characters come off untrustworthy thanks to some incoherent flashbacks and intentionally vague dialogue. Not that correctly identifying Cain’s true ally is a satisfying reveal as it comes off too pat and convenient anyway.

The dialogue is more effective in those moments when the characters sound like they’re breaking through the framework of an action movie and speak like actual people. Not surprisingly, these are the moments when Duhamel shines. This flippant, calling out characters’ word phrasing and actions is an approach Duhamel should incorporate in future action roles.

Director Sam Marconi never encountered an action sequence he didn’t think could be improved with slow motion. It’s done to a silly excess and takes so much of the thrill and suspense out of the fights. It’s worse during the shootouts as no one seems to actually take the time to aim when firing off their gun just looks so much cooler.

In the rare moments he shows some restraint with minimal choppy editing, and needless zoomed in exchanges, Marconi stages some decent action scenes. Again, these are in far too short supply to effectively cover for the film’s script deficiencies.

Marconi wisely gives Nolte plenty of space to chew as much scenery as he wants. Cornish provides a solid, understated presence while Chaparro comes off too often like the villain of another type of action movie entirely. Duhamel

What Blackout lacks in terms of quality it makes up for it with fun performances and an admirable commitment to its special brand of chaos. It’s hardly a cerebral action flick, but with its quick 91-minute run time, it’s entertaining enough for a bit of mindless fun.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Photo Credit: XYZ Films

Check out Josh Duhamel in The Transformers 3 Movie Collection on Blu-Ray on Amazon.

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