Golden Globe® nominee Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) stars as a desperate, bare-knuckle cage fighter battling for the only thing he has left in Rumble Through the Dark, a riveting action-thriller based on Michael Farris Smith’s celebrated novel The Fighter. Bella Thorne (The DUFF) shines alongside Eckhart in this gripping film about one man’s last-ditch effort to save his family home against the strongest of foes and the longest of odds.

For in-depth thoughts on Rumble Through the Dark, please see my colleague Phil Walsh’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Rumble Through the Dark arrives on Blu-Ray with a rock-solid 1080p presentation in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio that looks very nice in high definition. The clarity throughout is consistent with subtle textures in the production design and clothing coming through perfectly. Black levels showcase a pleasant amount of depth and do not fall victim to substantial digital noise or banding outside of intermittent shadowy moments. Color saturation is executed well with the reserved color palette presenting moments exactly as intended. Some instances of the background and lighting make more of an impression as they leap off the screen. Skin tones are natural with some exposed skin showing off blood, bruises, and scars as the narrative develops. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a fetching high definition presentation here.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track brings this story to your living room exactly as necessary. The movie uses environmental sounds quite well, and the track never falters when bringing it to life. This narrative delivers with hard-hitting moments when it calls for it, including a substantial low-end response that sells the brutality of the narrative. This story allows for moments of quiet which puts a greater emphasis on the sounds of the locations around the characters, which the soundscape disseminates from numerous directions. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear as it balances well with the music and the sound effects. This track will not let you down. There are English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Rumble Through the Dark is fairly by-the-numbers in terms of a gritty character study set within a brutal profession, but the performance from Aaron Eckhart elevates this to a level that is worth checking out. The talented performer has not had as many splashy opportunities in recent years, but this turn reminds us why we are constantly rooting for him to succeed. He alone is key when it comes to overlooking some eye-rolling contrivances and shaky dialogue. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a very strong A/V presentation but nothing in the way of supplemental features. If you are a fan of pugilistic dramas or Eckhart specifically, this may be worth your time.

Rumble Through the Dark is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.