Inside Lights Out are two wolves: one is a post-war drama involving a solider struggling with PTSD and lost meaning from time in the service, while the other is a thriller involving cops on the take and the money they’re owed. Both of these are compelling individually, but where they cross deals bloody wounds to them both. If not for performances from a willing cast, this latest release from Quiver Distribution would leave audiences feeling less than thrilled for having started the journey in the first place, so overly-wrought is the narrative while cutting as many corners as it can in order to meet its 90-minute runtime.
L-R: Frank Grillo as Michael ‘Duffy’ Duffield and Mekhi Phifer as Max Bomer in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Newly arrived in the Los Angeles area, Duffy (Frank Grillo) stops into a bar and inadvertently steps into some trouble he easily fights his way out of. Recognizing talent, fellow patron Max (Mekhi Phifer) makes Duffy a pitch for quick cash that’ll help them both by Duffy stepping into an unsanctioned ring for a couple bouts. Reluctant at first, Duffy acquiesces and, finding Max is on the up-and-up with contacts, travels with him to his sister’s in the city. What neither realize is the trouble that awaits them both as soon as they cross the threshold.
Jaime King as Detective Ellen Ridgeway in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Directed by Christian Sesma (Section 8) and written by Chad Law (Til Death Do We Part) and Garry Charles (Welcome to Acapulco), Lights Out is its most compelling within the elements of the first wolf: the veteran. Grillo plays Duffy as fairly affable, able to contort or adjust to near any situation he finds himself in. Underneath that, however, is a person struggling to deal with the trauma of war. Even before we see Duffy fight, his introduction tells us a lot about who he is and what he values as the character exits a truck he hitched a ride on and trades his watch for a buy-in at a poker table. These choices tell us quite a bit — though he served, he may not have done so long enough to have a pension; he prefers to be on the move and lead a minimalist lifestyle; and doesn’t maintain connections to his past. He’s introduced as a vagrant, suggestive of someone without tethers in this world, which requires Grillo, as the film goes on, to lean into his performance to explain why he so readily jumps in the proverbial hole with Max. Of course, given his military service and the character’s desire for a fight, having established himself as trustworthy, it makes sense that Duffy would link up, brotherhood being something this vet clearly misses. So much of this subtext within the script and this film is at its strongest when it trusts the audience to get these things from what’s shown, what’s said, and how scene partners Grillo (One Day as a Lion; Point Black) and Phifer (Clockers) play off each other.
L-R: Mekhi Phifer as Max Bomer and Frank Grillo as Michael ‘Duffy’ Duffield in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Where the film starts to weaken is within the second wolf: the bad cop story. Based on the trailer, the premise is clear — Duffy fights in a match run by bent cops, it goes sideways, and he ends up a target. It’s neat, it’s clean, and is just enough to create dramatic tension. Except it’s made far more complicated than that by inserting an additional outside pressure which results in sequences that force multiple connections between these and other characters, having scenes that shorthand others, and generally creating situations that make less sense when contemplated longer than a few minutes. Intrigue for the sake of intrigue only slows down momentum and results, in this particular case, with a lot of jumps from one location to another intercut with transitional cityscape establishing footage that makes one wonder why we even needed the first shot as the second clearly conveys what’s going on. There’s a lot of this going on in the film where it over-explains things that are unnecessary (like the aforementioned location jump or a conversation between one crooked cop and another re: additional support, which, itself, doesn’t make sense in the broader scheme of things), but then it also avoids obvious things like Duffy introducing himself to Max in a scene we observe. There’s no issue with the two trading names where we can’t see. The two are traveling together after their initial meeting, so it makes sense that they’d talk, so it’s an interesting choice regarding what they talk about versus what they don’t. However, the script also skips over explaining the relationship between Max and the woman he and Duffy stay with, Rachel (played with delightful charm by Erica Peeples), using natural conversation for us to fill in the blanks. Except, based on what Max has said early in the film, there’s a certain amount of reading between the lines. Max’s relationship with Rachel can easily be presumed in one of several ways, few of which explain the way in which she just rolls with Max and Duffy staying with them. Where the above dovetails together is, in my view, intended to connect the bad cops to Max directly, thereby pulling Duffy in as well as a new friend/solider looking for a worthy cause, and it’s got some interesting potential, however the execution comes off as convoluted to the point of running up an already brief runtime.
L-R: Scott Adkins as Don ‘The Reaper’ Richter, Frank Grillo as Michael ‘Duffy’ Duffield, and Mekhi Phifer as Max Bomer in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
This being a fight film that stars the likes of Grillo and Scott Adkins (John Wick: Chapter 4; One More Shot) and has fighting as a core component of the narrative, there’s a certain bar that needs to be met regarding expectation. Coordinated by Luke LaFontane (Section 8), the fight stuntwork are an odd mix of being smartly choreographed to make the most of space and the characters, while also being so heavily edited that confusion reigns over clarity and impact. A smart edit in a fight occurs in one of two ways — minimally in order to showcase the performers’ skills (usually executed via long takes) or edits that serve to convey impact and momentum. Here, where the proportions are clear, we can see smart design of fight choreography whether it’s Grillo’s Duffy fighting someone taller than he is or two randos going at it in a dirt field next to cargo boxes, making it clear that there’s intentional blocking in order to communicate who these people are in opposition to others. Most of Duffy’s fights are brief, indicating he’s someone highly skilled but also eager to put a hurt on someone. The shame is that the editing is such that in the major of the boxing/MMA/anything goes fights that it may as well be bedlam for all that we can see. Again, what we can see of LaFontaine’s choreography suggests someone who works with his team to give them space and opportunity to shine, but the editing destroys it all by utilizing so many fast cuts that it’s more blur than traceable action. When the film then shifts into a more heroic bloodshed genre situation, all bets for tracking activity is off as it’s merely muzzle flash after muzzle flash and either folks are hit or they’re not. Lights Out is the rare fight film where strong execution of the action seems to be third on the list of important aspects instead of first.
Amaury Nolasco as Fosco in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Now, it’s clear from looking at the bios on the cast and crew that there’s a lot of cross-over from various projects, explaining how so much talent gets into one project. Maybe they signed on to work with folks they know, maybe they thought the project is an immediate homerun, whatever the reason may be, the cast is stacked from top to bottom with folks possessing a history within the direct-to-tv action. This matters because just because something is direct to TV (DTV) doesn’t mean it’s “less than” it’s theatrical brethren (reminder: the original John Wick (2014) was *supposed* to be DTV), and there’s plenty about Lights Out that makes sense as a theatrical release given the star power of Grillo, Phifer, Adkins, Dermot Mulroney (Scream IV), and Jaime King (Sin City), so please don’t mistake the prior statement to infer that Lights Out lacks quality. Each of the above gets a moment or two to shine, especially King whose shift in persona from bent cop to sympathetic ear is downright malevolent and disquieting, conveying someone who sees all she engages with as beneath her. Conversely, Mulroney as fight club manager/operator Sage is doing some fun character work that helps elevate the character from one-note villain into something just dimensional enough to be interesting. For their part, Grillo, Phifer, and Adkins make the most of their scene work, their respective talents being given an opportunity to shine.
Dermot Mulroney as Sage Parker in the action/thriller, LIGHTS OUT, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
When Lights Out is focused, it’s demonstrative of what a meaty, lean action drama can be, using military service, the ways in which society tends to discard its servicepeople once used, and the trauma that vets often are forced to deal with unsupported post-deployment. The inclusion of story elements with bent cops only adds to the engagement, creating a very straight-forward, easy to acknowledge, and worthy bad guys for our protagonists to challenge. Heck, there’s even a title song reminiscent of late ‘90s/early ‘00s action films like Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) or Romeo Must Die (2000) that infuses Lights Out with a bit of that nostalgic goodness. But when the narrative adds and adds, the intrigue is lost, as is the momentum, making even the bright spots just a little duller.
In theaters, VOD, and digital February 16th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Quiver Distribution website.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming
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