by Foster Harlfinger, Contributing Writer
Rowdy Herrington’s 1989 Road House stars Patrick Swayze as the bouncer at a small-town Missouri bar, who combines his black belt in karate and PhD in philosophy to radical effect. Jake Gyllenhaal, star of this straight-to-streaming remake, may not have the one-of-a-kind charisma that Swayze brought to every one of his roles in the late-80s and early-90s, but he remains so thoroughly committed to his craft that he could convincingly play the role of a milk carton if he so desired. Not to mention his obvious efforts in the gym — the man goes toe-to-toe with Conor McGregor in the final act, yet you never doubt Gyllenhaal as a genuine competitor for one second.
A UFC middleweight fighter in a past life and an underground scammer in the present, Elwood Dalton is approached with an unconventional job offer: head bouncer at the Road House, a venue in the Florida Keys with an increasingly rowdy clientele. Local crime boss Ben Brandt (a perfectly over-the-top Billy Magnussen) has ambitions to build a resort in Glass Key, but there is just one problem: The Road House sits squarely in the middle of Brandt’s desired locale, and the establishment’s owner, Frankie (Jessica Williams), refuses to let it go.
Much more akin to a classic western than an action film, the further Road House delves into Dalton’s budding romance with his doctor, Ellie (Daniela Melchior), the closer its measured pace drifts into tedium. Even with the film’s occasional stretches of boredom and oscillating tone, there is rarely a 10-minute stretch without a serviceable “Gyllenhaal teaches some fools a lesson” sequence to justify the whole endeavor, and by the time the final Gyllenhaal versus McGregor fight comes around, it is difficult not to be on board.
With a director like Doug Liman behind the camera, you are always in steady hands, even if his track record has been more miss than hit as of late. This 35-years-later remake misses the perfect ‘80s vibes of the original, but supplants them with a few quirks of its own. Whether it is the GoPro-style action scenes, an unexpected Post Malone cameo, or McGregor’s utterly deranged onscreen persona, Road House has the potential to live on in the memories of future cinephiles as a charming relic of the 2020s in much the same way as the original has done for lovers of the 1980s.
Rating: Low Side of Liked It
Road House is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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