Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tons of violence, language, in generic, shaky fight movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Lights Out
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In LIGHTS OUT, former soldier Michael "Duffy" Duffield (Frank Grillo) gets off of a bus in Los Angeles and goes into a bar. He joins a card game and starts winning big, prompting the other players to question his honesty, which ultimately leads to a bar fight. Duffy dispatches the others easily, and the altercation is witnessed by Max (Mekhi Phifer). Max offers Duffy a way to make a lot more money: using his skills in an illegal street fighting ring. Since Max owes money to a crime boss named Sage (Dermot Mulroney), this scheme can help them both. Unfortunately, Sage and his partner, crooked cop Ellen Ridgeway (Jaime King), are also in debt and are searching for money that a low-level criminal stole and hid in Max's sister Rachel's (Erica Peeples) house, unbeknownst to her. Coincidentally, Duffy happens to be staying at Rachel's. Once Max and Duffy realize what a fix they've found themselves in, they decide to put an end to it for good.
Is It Any Good?
The combination of Grillo and Phifer promised something at least passable, but it's all so sloppy and generic that it's more likely it was just a paycheck for them. Just about every single thing in Lights Out has been used before, from the street fighting to the hero doing little repairs in the sister's house to the villain saying "tick-tock, tick-tock," to indicate that time is running out. (Even the film's title is borrowed from a far superior 2016 horror movie.) During the fight scenes, whenever Duffy breaks a skull or some bones, the movie uses an "X-ray" technique—borrowed from 1970s Sonny Chiba action movies—to show it. If the fight scenes had been great, that might have helped salvage things, but director Christian Sesma (of the abysmally bad Every Last One of Them and other duds) mangles them, too, with jittery shaky-cam cinematography and erratic editing, sucking the life and suspense out of them.
That said, Lights Out isn't quite as bad as some of Sesma's other work, simply because of quirky touches like King's hairdo or the fact that nearly every single character in the movie is in debt to someone else (which could be some kind of commentary on U.S. values/society). Lights Out could be an acceptable time-waster for viewers of a certain taste, but others will want to look elsewhere for prime pugilism.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Lights Out's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Could Max and Duffy be considered role models, given some of their illegal or unsavory activities? If so, why?
Why is fighting the subject of so many movies? What's appealing or interesting about it?
Nearly every character in the movie seems to be in debt to someone else. Do you think the movie has any messages about the state of finances and debt in the United States? If so, what is it?
Duffy says that he was "exploited by his country" by serving in the military. Do you agree with that statement? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 16, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : February 16, 2024
- Cast : Frank Grillo , Mekhi Phifer , Jaime King
- Director : Christian Sesma
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Quiver Distribution
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and pervasive language
- Last updated : February 24, 2024
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