Fans of hearty crime action can look forward to “Rumble Through The Dark” as well as fans of intense character dramas. Lead actor Aaron Eckhart really gives it his all here. Starting today, you can stream the film as part of your Prime Video subscription.
Most recently, Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent aka Two Face in “The Dark Knight”) delighted fans of crisp B-action with films such as “Muzzle: K-9 Narcotics Unit”, “The Bricklayer” and “Chief Of Station”. With his physical roles in such genre contributions, the man in his mid-fifties is increasingly competing with Gerard Butler. After all, the Scotsman has also successfully discovered this field for himself with hits such as “Plane” and “Kandahar”.
“Rumble Through The Dark” by directing brothers Graham and Parker Phillips (“The Bygone”) is another title with Eckhart that goes in this direction. From now on you can stream the tough FSK-16 title “Rumble Through The Dark” at no extra charge as part of the flat rate program of Amazon Prime Video:
“Rumble Through The Dark ” bei Amazon Prime Video*
The most prominent name in the cast, apart from Eckhart, is Bella Thorne, known from “Midnight Sun,” “I Still See You,” and the horror comedies “The Babysitter 1+2” on Netflix. Also in the cast: Ritchie Coster from the Sylvester Stallone series “Tulsa King,” Derek Russo (“Renfield”), and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Mike Leigh’s “Lies and Secrets.”
This is what “Rumble Through The Dark” is about
Mixed martial arts fighter Jack Boucher (Eckhart) is inexorably approaching the end of his career due to considerable physical and – thanks to various head injuries – mental impairments. For years he has been living almost exclusively on booze and painkillers, which is why he decides to put an end to the torture.
After a final battle, he returns to his rural hometown in the southern provinces. There he immediately visits his seriously ill former foster mother Maryann (Jeanne Caldarera, “LBJ”). The old woman plans to leave him her house, which means a lot to him. However, if she dies before Jack has paid off his debts to the local mafia boss (Jean-Baptiste), the property would go to her and Maryann would have worked for nothing all her life.
Then Jack meets Annette (Thorne), who works at a traveling fair, and it looks as if he might still have a chance at a better, more peaceful life. Through Annette, he also meets someone who could arrange one last fight for him. This would give him the opportunity to save the house he grew up in. However, it seems anything but certain that Jack will survive another fight alive…
Hardness and emotions
For a tough film about a washed-up MMA fighter, “Rumble Through The Dark” not only offers some fights in and outside the ring that are painful to watch, but also several quiet and emotionally touching moments. Screenwriter Michael Farris Smith (“Desperation Road”), who adapted his own novel “The Fighter” here, and the directors manage to pull off this balancing act between the extremes in an astonishingly credible and effective way.
The book “The Fighter” on Amazon*
The protagonist is shockingly aware that he is suffering from severe brain damage. Nevertheless, he is determined to put his life and the far from easy circumstances surrounding it in order. The character not only fights against brutal opponents in the ring and ruthless gangsters. Above all, he must deal with his recurring phases of mental confusion and do his best to hide them from other people who could take advantage of him.
The production cleverly builds a kind of narrative fog around Jack, in which he staggers from one place to the next – accompanied by memories of his childhood, in which there was only him and his loving foster mother, which comfort and inspire him in equal parts…
By the way, the aforementioned “Chief Of Station” with Aaron Eckhart will finally be coming to Germany at the end of September 2024. In the following article you can read everything you need to know about the explosive spy thriller and you can also watch the trailer:
German trailer for “Chief Of Station”: Action expert sends “The Dark Knight” star on a revenge mission
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