Lights Out

Patrick “Lights” Leary used to know what his body could earn him. Retirement makes that calculation much less comfortable. Lights Out follows a former heavyweight champion facing financial pressure, family obligations and the possibility of returning to a profession that has already taken a toll.

Holt McCallany gives Lights physical credibility without reducing him to a noble fighter enduring other people's mistakes. Pride and poor judgment complicate the practical problems. His family have reasons to want different things from a comeback, and affection does not settle the disagreement.

The boxing matters because it has consequences outside the ring. Training and business arrangements sit beside the domestic story rather than supplying a separate sports plot that can be ignored between bouts.

It is worth considering even if boxing is not usually your subject. The central question is what someone does when the skill that once defined him is also the most dangerous solution to his problems. Viewers who admire McCallany's quieter work in Mindhunter will find a more physically exposed lead performance here.