A luci spente

Lights out goes through well worn action territory. Drifter Duffy (Frank Grillo) gets ripped off in a poker game at a bar in LA. After using his fists he comes to the attention of Max (Mekhi Phifer.)

He wants to manage Duffy for underground fight clubs. As an unknown quantity, Duffy is an ex army veteran with PTSD. Max who has recently been released from prison hopes to make money on the betting that takes place.

Only both men fall foul of corrupt cops who run the underground fights with gangster Sage (Dermot Mulroney.)

When Max's niece is injured by the baddies. Both go after them hard. Duffy also calls in ex army buddy 'The Reaper' Scott Adkins.

The action scenes are the best selling point for the movie. Not over the top. It helps that Grillo has the a acting chops for the quieter scenes. There is a strategic guest cameo from Adkins.

Former soldier Michael 'Duffy' Duffield (Frank Grillo) gets into a bar fight over a card game. Max Bomer (Mekhi Phifer) recruits him into his world of illegal underground fights. They start working for Sage Parker (Dermot Mulroney). His partner Ellen Ridgway (Jaime King) is an undercover cop.

There are a few good veteran actors here, but the movie can't escape the B-movie space. The filmmaking and the derivative story cannot elevate this movie. The last act becomes anti-climatic and perfunctory. There are a lot of little nits to pick. I kept waiting for a scene to excite me but it never comes.

Did you ever wonder who green-lights these scripts? The answer is, you wouldn't want to know who, or even how, because it would make you weep for the lost opportunity to make a proper film. Decades later, and the industry still has not grasped precisely what makes these films exciting, fun to watch, and profitable -- ie, the gradual escalation, growing anticipation, of the fights entirely for their own sake. Trying to complicate the story with hard drama or useless plot arcs is the fast track to ... nowhere. To see this done right, check out Charles Bronson in HARD TIMES 1975 (still works well a full half-century later!); or the surprise hit WARRIOR 2011, which coincidentally leads my IMDb list of best films. Frank Grillo at age 58 can still command the screen. But he deserves so much better than this. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

"I thought I was going to change the world, until the world changed me."

Lights Out is directed by Christian Sesma and stars Frank Grillo, Mekhi Phifer, Jamie King, Dermot Mulroney and Scott Adkins.

Follows Michael "Duffy" Duffield (Frank Grillo) a homeless ex soldier who is riddled with PTSD and who also happens to be a great fighter. He ends up attracting the attention of Ex-Con Max Bomer (Mekhi Phifer) who encourages him to start underground fighting to "let his anger out". Duffy quickly strikes up a relationship with Max's sister, Rachel (Erica Peeples) and her young daughter. It's also revealed that Max owes money to local LA crime boss Sage Parker (Dermot Mulroney) and things go from bad to worse once dirty cops (one of them played by Jamie King) start messing with Rachel.

For a B movie I thought this was above par and better than I expected. Frank Grillo is an underrated actor and if he wasn't the lead of this I don't think this film would have worked as well. The chemistry that him and Mekhi Phifer have together is probably the best part of this movie, they make for good co leads. It's rare to see DTV directors improve but between this and 2022's Section 8 I think it's pretty obvious that director Christian Sesma improved here or maybe working with Grillo and Adkins forced him to up his game. If you're watching this for Scott Adkins he has a very small role and only two scenes with Grillo here really. Also Dermot Mulroney seems to be in everything as of late but I thought he did a good job with his role here.

Where this movie falls apart is the whole dirty cop angle it becomes way too convoluted and I think that whole storyline could've been cut out of this movie entirely and Dermont Mulroney's character could've just been the main threat. Also Jamie King who plays one of the dirty cops wasn't really convincing in the role and never came across like a real threat. Overall though this is a fun, action filled B movie and if you just want to see Frank Grillo kicking ass you'll likely enjoy this. Also in my opinion this was a more enjoyable watch than both Madame Web and Argylle which are in theaters now so that has to count for something.

So ok, this is clearly not high cinema, but it is still quite entertaining. Yes, if you're here for Scott Atkins, you will be disappointed. That doesnt take away from this movie, and especially Frank Grillo, the guy is a total badass. Plus, you have Mekkhi Pfeifer and Dermot Mulroney, who have unfortunately dropped into the B movie scene, but that doesnt change the fact that they are solid actors that were at one point part of A movies. This movie is very much on par with your typical 80s or 90s mindless action movies. If you were a fan of those, you'll be a fan of this. So if you want some nostalgic simple, cliched action, give this a go.