Lights Out (2024) - Frank Grillo, Jaime King, Scott Adkins, Mekhi Phifer, Dermot Mulroney

[AlbertV]

Currently in production, this is being directed by Christian Sesma (The Vigilante Diaries) and written by Chad Law (Jarhead: The Siege). 

A homeless veteran, Michael “Duffy” Duffield, is always on the move, until he meets a talkative Ex-Con, Max Bomer (Phifer). Max notices Duffy’s skills after he gets into a bar fight and offers him a well-paying job. Duffy agrees and discovers that the “job” is competing in underground fight clubs. The pair make a ton of money on the first fight and decide to travel to LA so Duffy can atone for his past and Max can pay back a crime boss, Sage Parker (Mulroney). They stay with Rachel, Max’s sister, and Duffy quickly forms a connection with her. Duffy enters Sage’s fight club and eventually wins, but it leads to unwanted attention. Duffy gets tied up in the crime world and offered jobs he can’t refuse, including one with Sage’s partner and Police officer, Ellen Ridgway. The deeper he goes in this world, the more deadly it gets. Duffy is a skilled fighter, but will he and Max make it out alive?

https://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/films/lights-out-5

Edited January 10 by AlbertV

[AlbertV]

 

[AlbertV]

Release date: February 16, 2024

JuJu Chan Szeto is in this too.

Edited January 25 by AlbertV

[Agent U]

Unless Jaime King is playing a 70 yo there's just no excuse for that look.

I get the impression we've seen the whole movie in that trailer too.

[AlbertV]

On 1/26/2024 at 8:05 AM, Agent U said:

Unless Jaime King is playing a 70 yo there's just no excuse for that look.

I get the impression we've seen the whole movie in that trailer too.

My review is going up tomorrow...you didn't see the whole movie in the trailer. Actually I thought it was going one way but was way off with certain aspects but for an indie film of this caliber...pretty good twists. Oh and I should mention Juju Chan is in the film and even has a fight scene in it. 

I'll also have an exclusive interview with director Christian Sesma tomorrow on my YouTube channel. 

Edited February 11 by AlbertV

[Agent U]

52 minutes ago, AlbertV said:

My review is going up tomorrow...you didn't see the whole movie in the trailer. Actually I thought it was going one way but was way off with certain aspects but for an indie film of this caliber...pretty good twists. Oh and I should mention Juju Chan is in the film and even has a fight scene in it. 

I'll also have an exclusive interview with director Christian Sesma tomorrow on my YouTube channel. 

I can't understand from that whether Jaime King is playing a 70-year-old or not

Kidding aside, it's good to know the movie has some twists and actually manages to be surprising.

[AlbertV]

Oh I know...she mostly sports that hairstyle but does have a straighter style in a few scenes. Yeah, I was quite surprised with some of the twists and turns. And there is a misconception thinking two powerhouses will face off against each other, but it's not the case (I thought it too, but was wrong). 

[One Armed Boxer]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:05 AM, Agent U said:

Unless Jaime King is playing a 70 yo there's just no excuse for that look.

It's the confirmation you've been waiting for - she's not playing a 70 year old.  I got through watching this one recently, and gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/lights-out-2024-review-scott-adkins-frank-grillo-christian-sesma/

[laagi]

5 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

It's the confirmation you've been waiting for - she's not playing a 70 year old.  I got through watching this one recently, and gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/lights-out-2024-review-scott-adkins-frank-grillo-christian-sesma/

So you gave THIS the full review treatment? I think someone wants a word with you...

[PandaPawPaw]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:26 PM, AlbertV said:

Release date: February 16, 2024

JuJu Chan Szeto is in this too.

Is Jaime King wearing a wig or is her hair just fucked up?

[One Armed Boxer]

6 minutes ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Is Jaime King wearing a wig or is her hair just fucked up?

I refuse to go back and watch it to confirm, so I'll leave it to @AlbertV. 

15 minutes ago, laagi said:

So you gave THIS the full review treatment? I think someone wants a word with you...

The good news is the next movie in the firing line up for review is one I thoroughly enjoyed and will be giving a hearty recommendation!

[Agent U]

On 2/12/2024 at 5:42 AM, One Armed Boxer said:

It's the confirmation you've been waiting for - she's not playing a 70 year old.  I got through watching this one recently, and gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/lights-out-2024-review-scott-adkins-frank-grillo-christian-sesma/

Thanks for thinking of me. The doubt had been keeing me up at night 😄

[AlbertV]

On 2/12/2024 at 6:40 AM, PandaPawPaw said:

Is Jaime King wearing a wig or is her hair just fucked up?

I think it was styled for the movie, but could be a wig. Hard to tell. 

[Agent U]

I must say I thought this one was a slog to finish. Which is saying a lot, considering it clocks out at under 90 minutes.

Also, didn't feel there were any actual twists in this. And indeed the trailer revealed A LOT

Spoiler

like Scott's character getting shot

I'd agree it was hard to tell where the whole thing was going. But I'd argue that's more down to how convoluted and aimless the entire plot feels.

The whole criminal 'intrigue' takes more screen time than the fighting circuit. A good move considering how rubbish the fights are.

I really don't know what happened here, because Luke LaFontaine was the fight coreographer and he's got some definite winners in his resume (eg Avengement). But the fights in this were of the standard I'd expect to see in a daytime soap, not in a movie (partially) about underground fighting.

To make matters worse, they added some ludicrous MK-like effects to the blows. Exactly the type of thing that makes me think Christian Sesma is a clueless tasteless hack.

So, yeah, 3/10 for me at best. And that's only because the acting was generally above average in the genre, especially Mekhi Phifer and Scott Adkins (whose only reason to have spent more than an afternoon in this would be the fact his minimal screen time is split between two locations).