Road House (2024)

​“Road House” stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, and Conor McGregor. Released on Prime Video on March 21, 2024, the film has a former UFC fighter working at a roadhouse.

The film was directed by Doug Liman, who also directed films such as “Go”, “The Bourne Identity”, “Edge of Tomorrow”, “American Made”, and “Chaos Walking”. It is a remake of the 1989 film written by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin. If there’s one thing I learned from watching wrestlers and MMA fighters battle in the ring, their skills are also helpful for other jobs. Most of them hone their expertise on the big screen, while others use them for…something else that doesn’t involve standing in front of a camera for the sake of fan service. For this particular fighter, his skillfulness is used to protect people at a country road tavern. Rowdy Herrington’s action film “Road House”, which involved a bouncer punishing unruly guests at a bar, didn’t make much of an impact financially and critically when released in 1989. However, it eventually became known as a classic “so bad, it’s good” film that features Patrick Swayze being handsomely muscular for under two hours. Its popularity spawned a direct-to-video sequel in 2006 that everyone loves to forget about. With how iconic the movie is despite the mixed reception, Hollywood thought now was the best time to reintroduce it via a remake starring another muscular actor, Jake Gyllenhaal. Unfortunately, instead of being released in theaters as director Doug Liman had planned, it went straight to Prime Video, much to the filmmaker’s frustration. Besides that, did the film have enough muscles to justify its existence and throw out its unruly flaws? Let’s find out.

The story centers on Elwood Dalton (Gyllenhaal), a troubled former UFC middleweight fighter. After retiring from the sport, Elwood makes a living scamming fighters on the underground circuit. He is then approached by Frankie (Williams), the owner of a roadhouse in Glass Key, who offers Elwood a job as the bar’s head bouncer. While hesitant at first, Elwood accepts the position. Following his arrival, Elwood is tasked with protecting the roadhouse from its unruly guests while befriending several people, including teenage bookstore owner Charlie (Hannah Lanier) and a doctor named Ellie (Melchior). When a crime boss named Ben Brandt (Magnussen) sends his men to ruin its business, including a mentally unstable enforcer Knox (McGregor), Elwood must rely on his skills to protect the roadhouse and its guests. 

My experience with “Road House” is equivalent to my experience with an actual roadhouse: nonexistent. Despite its action-packed concept, I hadn’t gotten the time to watch the 1989 cult classic that maintained Patrick Swayze’s career until recently. With the remake being out on Prime Video, I decided to watch the original on the same streaming service for the first time. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but I enjoyed several moments from 1989's “Road House”, including Swayze beating the crud out of rowdy customers. Since the remake offered more of the same as the original, I didn’t have much expectations from it other than for it to be watchable despite its unnecessary existence. If you’re wondering why it took me this long to review this film, it’s because I had plenty of stuff I was taking care of that shouldn’t be ignored. In short, I’m sort of a bouncer myself, except I’m removing my personal issues from my premises instead of the short-tempered idiots wrecking the place.

So, now that I have finally found the time to watch it, how did I feel about the 2024 update? Well, I can tell you this: it’s far from a disastrous night at the most dangerous tavern in Florida, but I wouldn’t call it a groundbreaking party. The 2024 remake of “Road House” offers plenty of moments that benefit from its action and style, which may be enough to make it watchable as its own film. However, when it comes to everything else, it plays off what you expect from an action-packed showdown between a troubled protagonist and the forces of corruption, for better or worse. If you’ve watched the original “Road House”, you’ll immediately know what you’ll get from the remake regarding its plot. Both movies follow a similar narrative: a man haunted by his violent past is hired as a bouncer at a roadhouse and tangles with a corrupt businessman controlling the town. However, the remake provided a few differences to prevent it from being a derivative copy of the original, including making Dalton a former mixed martial arts fighter. These changes may depend on what the original’s fans prefer, but to me, some of these changes gave the classic troubling-drifter narrative a modern makeover. Unfortunately, other cases came off as something we’ve seen many times before and a hit-and-miss attempt at replicating the original’s cheesy tone.

Regarding the screenplay by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, “Road House” is a straightforward yet familiar punch-em-up experience that’s heavy on mindless brawn instead of storytelling brains. Those who don’t mind a straightforward action flick would find something to enjoy from “Road House”, especially its presentation. However, if you’re hoping for something more out of its characters and themes, such as Dalton’s past, you might want to try a different bar because this one doesn’t serve that order. From my perspective, its middling narrative doesn’t hit as hard as the characters’ punches, but I can easily admit that “Road House” is one of the better-looking remakes I’ve seen. This is due to director Doug Liman, whose style delivered an immersive and brutally fun display of roadhouse violence and manly abs, and the impressive cinematography by Henry Braham. The wide-angle shots, panning effects, and handheld camera techniques are essential aspects that make the presentation as slick and attractive as Gyllenhaal’s muscular body. The only issue with these sequences is that some of the CGI effects don’t look as polished as the real deal. Otherwise, the action scenes were pretty much what I expected: brutal yet entertaining.

However, despite Liman’s best efforts to deliver some fun and decently shot R-rated violence, his approach to the film’s tone was a bit of a mess. The "Road House" remake takes a grittier approach to the story while incorporating charm and levity into its characters and corny dialogue, similar to the 1989 original. Although some of those moments were mildly amusing, the rest struggled to maintain that momentum. Finding the right balance between seriousness and cheesiness can be challenging, as it risks creating a tone that misleads or alienates the audience. In the case of "Road House", the tone exhibits a relentless and unyielding demeanor, evocative of a tough-as-nails attitude. However, the incorporation of humor into the film results in a forced or lackluster delivery that fails to resonate with the audience.

Jake Gyllenhaal made some effort to make Dalton’s cool-headed yet mentally troubling personality its brightest moment, but there were a few occasions when his delivery came up short of my expectations. The only person who was able to make its tone somewhat watchable was professional UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who made his feature film debut as Knox. I haven’t watched enough UFC matches to know who McGregor was, but I was impressed by his attempt to make Knox’s psychotic personality mildly endearing. The fact that this was McGregor’s first acting gig makes it all the more welcoming. As for the rest of the cast, they did pretty well in helping Gyllenhaal carry the film. Daniela Melchior was decent as Dalton’s love interest, Ellie, and Billy Magnussen was hit-and-miss as Ben Brandt regarding the direction of the villain’s personality. 

Overall, “Road House” delivered a satisfying punch in its presentation and action but struggled to take its substance outside its limitations, like how Gyllenhaal takes the fight outside the establishment. It’s a well-shot and enjoyably brutal remake with enough moments to maintain my attention, including its cast and Liman’s direction for the fight sequences. Unfortunately, they couldn’t prevent it from being knocked down repeatedly by its tone, middling storytelling, and iffy CGI effects. It’s far from a knockout, but as far as remakes go, it’s definitely one of the more tolerable ones we have, regardless of its flaws. If you’re familiar with the 1989 cult classic, it’s worth watching on Prime Video, but don’t expect anything more than what it offered.

C