Lights Out Review: Street Soldier Seeks Redemption

Lights Out throws viewers into the gritty world of underground fighting when a former soldier named Duffy gets involved in some illegal bare-knuckle brawls. This action flick stars Frank Grillo of Captain America fame as the stoic Duffy, who wanders from town to town struggling with PTSD.

After crossing paths with a fast-talking promoter named Max (played by Mekhi Phifer of 8 Mile and Blade), Duffy agrees to compete in high-stakes fight tournaments to earn some cash. But faster than a knockout punch, these two antiheroes find themselves squaring off against corrupt cops and the LA crime underworld.

Backed by a strong supporting cast including Dermot Mulroney and Jaime King, Lights Out brings plenty of hard-hitting fight sequences with an old school action vibe. Director Christian Sesma leans into grittiness with stylized violence and x-ray effects showing the damage. So if you’re craving some intense fisticuffs with conspiracies and shady characters in the mix, strap on your fight gloves and step into the ring with Duffy. Just don’t expect the plot to pull any punches either. This ain’t your average boxing movie!

Searching for Purpose

At his core, Duffy is a lost soul trying to find meaning after a shattering military experience. We’re introduced to him as a homeless veteran drifting from town to town, struggling with PTSD from his combat days. Duffy had his innocence stripped away on the battlefield along with many of his brothers-in-arms. Now he wanders without roots or relationships, seeking fleeting distractions like card games to get quick cash before moving onwards.

Inside, Duffy grapples with survivor’s guilt and anger over the futility of war. When he crosses paths with the fast-talking Max, we glimpse Duffy’s first real human connection since leaving the service. Max himself has suffered loss from his veteran brother’s suicide. He sees Duffy heading down a similar dark road and tries providing support. Max invites Duffy into his family – giving him temporary shelter and comradery. For the first time in ages, Duffy finds himself sharing honest talks over home-cooked meals. He starts viewing Rachel and her daughter almost like his own family.

Fighting also gives Duffy an outlet to direct his simmering rage. Every crushing blow and broken bone he inflicts represents striking back at the faceless system that sent him to war then discarded him after. The roar of crowds channels his adrenaline rather than destructive tendencies. For a brief moment in those underground rings, Duffy rediscovers the brotherhood and exhilaration of soldiering – but this time on his own terms.

Of course the call of violence cannot shield Duffy’s heart forever. When Max and Rachel get threatened by ruthless criminals, Duffy faces his greatest test yet. Will he retreat into solitude or risk everything to save the only people left who care about him?

Brutality in the Ring

When it comes to showcasing intense fight sequences, Lights Out delivers plenty of bare-knuckle brawling to satisfy action fans. We’re treated to numerous underground tournament matches held in gritty locales from seedy gyms to deserted warehouses. Director Christian Sesma adopts a street fighting aesthetic – showcasing a loose brutish style rather than technical precision.

The film leverages some stylistic editing techniques to underscore the impacts. Slow motion captures the exact moment of contact when fists meet jaws. Breaking bones and bruising organs get visualized through almost comical x-ray effects that feel ripped straight from Mortal Kombat. While not overly realistic, these zoomed-in shots provide visceral punctuation to Duffy’s most devastating blows.

That said, many fight scenes feel disappointingly brief – ending after a few exchanges rather than building prolonged intensity. The choreography emphasizes isolated power kicks and haymakers meant to abruptly finish fights. Compared to the drawn-out battles in movies like Undisputed, these underground bouts lack dynamic back-and-forth drama. We get teased with the prospect of seeing MMA legends like Donald Cerrone clash with Duffy, only to be denied extended fisticuff exchanges.

Still as a vehicle to showcase Frank Grillo’s physicality and cement Duffy’s intimidating presence, the underground tournament delivers on showmanship. The crowd roars add an electrifying ambiance and watching Duffy unleash on opponents proves satisfying – even if we’re left wanting more.

Complex Characters

Beyond Duffy’s central arc, the supporting cast in Lights Out makes the criminal underworld feel lived-in thanks to nuanced performances. As Duffy’s manager-turned-friend, Mekhi Phifer brings heartfelt camaraderie and streetwise hustling to the role of Max. We believe his good intentions in wanting to provide Duffy support and guidance. Erica Peeples also impresses as Max’s sister Rachel, capturing both vulnerability and an inner strength as she tries protecting her daughter.

On the flip side, Dermot Mulroney leans into smarmy aggression for his turn as the gym-owning crime boss Sage. He exerts a threatening energy befitting an ambitious operator trying to expand his power. Yet Mulroney’s portrayal keeps Sage from becoming a complete heavy-handed caricature through glimpses of his manipulative charm.

Meanwhile Jaime King stands out as the ruthless villain Detective Ridgway, bringing chilling gravitas to the corrupt cop. With an icy stare and coiled intensity, her Ridgway will go to ruthless lengths hiding her illicit dealings behind a badge. King’s dynamically unhinged performance amplifies the stakes whenever she’s on-screen. We buy into her authority and hyper-competence while still glimpsing the unethical monster lurking underneath.

The richly drawn supporting characters and villains keep the tense cat-and-mouse game between lawbreakers and law enforcers feeling grounded. None of the key players conform to pure hero-villain archetypes, instead showcasing realistic human contradictions and complexities true to life.

Lost in the Shuffle

While showing initial promise, Lights Out gradually succumbs to juggling more style than substance through its bloated plot. In pursuing so many characters and subplots, the central emotional arc gets drowned out. Duffy’s personal journey from lost veteran to finding renewed purpose becomes obscured behind constantly escalating criminal stakes.

We lose sight of his PTSD struggles and camaraderie with Max’s family as the story devolves into a complex web of crooked cops chasing missing money. The ever-growing roster of incidental villains like crime bosses, dirty detectives and their various chains of command ends up feeling exhausting rather than heightening tension.

The script also relies heavily on action movie tropes and caricatures without enough moments of introspection or originality to make the characters pop. We get corrupt officer Ridgway as the template icy villain without deeper dimension. Sage fills the role of ambitious gym owner/fight promoter with mob ties but little else. Their confrontation feels predictable based on convention rather than genuinely earned interpersonal drama.

While solidly executed, almost every element from the underground fighting to the criminal conspiracies gives off a been-there-done-that vibe. Lights Out follows the predetermined fight movie formula down to the climactic final showdown without enough flair or innovation to separate itself from the pack. We lose track of Duffy’s poignant journey amidst checklisted cliches.

A Mixed Media Bag

Visually, Lights Out showcases some artistic flair amidst editing missteps. Director Christian Sesma brings a brooding, atmospheric touch to the military flashback scenes. Desaturated filters and nimble camerawork effectively capture the chaos of war while showcasing Duffy’s trauma. These moments feel more like a heavy drama than a gritty action flick thanks to evocative lighting and framing.

Elsewhere the underground fights pop with color, from smoky red lighting in clandestine arenas to the neon hues of Sage’s lux gym. The camera flows smoothly as we track each punch and kick, with mortally lit arena spotlights cutting through shadows. Freeze frames on crushing blows coupled with x-ray crack effects add visceral punctuation.

Things unravel a bit in the climactic shootout however, where sloppy editing undermines the action. Disorienting quick cuts between players along with poor conveyance of spatial relationships/proximity dull the sequence’s impact. We lose track of who’s where and when, diluting the stakes. For an ostensibly huge dramatic moment meant to tie all the plotlines together, the whole thing feels oddly subdued.

So while Sesma nails the look early on, he seems to lose the visual thread late when it matters most. If not for the blandly constructed finale, Lights Out would shine brighter on a technical level. As is, we get flashes of flair surrounded by missed opportunities.

Sizing Up the Competition

Ultimately, Lights Out works best by sticking to basics rather than playing outside its weight class. First time director Christian Sesma shows potential in helming compact gritty action when his focus stays narrowly on Frank Grillo’s brooding vibe and hard-hitting fight scenes. Grillo brings understated emotional depth and physicality to the role, while still maintaining that classic Charles Bronson “tough guy” aura. His chemistry with Mekhi Phifer also provides the film’s touching heart amidst family drama.

Yet when the plot spiral into elaborate conspiracies and increasingly over-the-top setpieces, Lights Out gets lost in the shuffle. We lose sight of character arcs and any resonance amidst sensory excess and one-dimensional villains. Sesma and his crew show talent “playing the hits” of fight choreography and urban crime grit, but aren’t always up to the task of innovating on genre conventions or expanding scope.

Taken on its own merits though, Lights Out packs enough popcorn entertainment value and hard-edge aesthetics to please action aficionados – albeit without landing many knockouts. Room for improvement exists, but the building blocks also allow easy continuation for a potential Duffy-centric franchise down the line. As launch vehicles go, we’ve certainly witnessed far shakier debuts over the years for budding B-movie heroes.

So while not quite champion material yet, Lights Out at least shows itself game to answer the bell and throw some competitive combination punches when sticking to its strengths. Given more training and discipline, Team Duffy could still prove championship contenders in another few rounds.

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