‘Come Out Fighting’ Review: The Battle of the Budget

The microbudget warfare film “Come Out Fighting” is so conspicuously cheap-looking that it might be initially mistaken for one of many direct-to-video mockbusters made by the considerably notorious indie studio The Asylum — these thrifty, semi-plagiaristic exploitation flicks like “Ardennes Fury” or “Operation Dunkirk,” which have little to suggest them in addition to their zany, so-bad-it’s-almost-good zeal. But whereas it has a blatant shoestring sheen, “Come Out Fighting” isn’t arch or irony-laden; in truth, the tone is kind of severe, albeit additionally critically clichéd. Between the dogfights, ambushes, minefield maneuvers and flamethrower assaults — all of them realized with cut-rate visible results — the movie is contemplative and somber, pensively reflecting on such steadfast wartime themes as willpower, valor and braveness amongst males. Perhaps for sure, the film options no ladies.

It options no surprises, both, telling a well-known story a couple of squad of stouthearted troopers in World War II endeavoring to rescue their commanding officer after he’s trapped behind enemy traces. The writer-director Steven Luke, who has a number of of those low-budget warfare films underneath his belt now, leans laborious on the conventions of the style, and borrows closely from “Saving Private Ryan.” His writing is skinny and tends often towards platitudes, with characters spouting knowledge like “the cards have to fall where they fall.”

Both Luke and his forged — particularly Hiram A. Murray because the indomitable Lt. Hayes and Dolph Lundgren because the skilled and kindly Major Anderson — appear gamely dedicated to the fabric, managing at instances to muster a real sense of gravity. This impression of effort on the a part of all concerned makes “Come Out Fighting” surprisingly likable even when it’s unhealthy. And it’s typically unhealthy.

Come Out Fighting
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. In theaters and accessible on demand.