Road House Movie Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Steps Into Patrick Swayze's Shoes In This Sleek But Pointless Remake of the Cult Thriller! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Road House Movie Review: The late Patrick Swayze's 1989 film Road House is an iconic film for its times. It is no masterpiece, but like its fans say, it is that good kind of a bad movie. I mean, it was crazy, stupid action, hot girls gratuitous sex and violence and plenty of cheese, with Swayze's mullet owning the show. To no one's asking, Road House is now getting a new-age treatment. Doug Liman's adaptation is not a directed remake - it is what the makers call a re-telling, with the great Jake Gyllenhaal stepping into Swayze's shoes. Road House: Jake Gyllenhaal Drops BTS Pictures from Action Thriller Featuring Conor McGregor; Actor Reveals Insane Physical Transformation.

Unlike the original, where Swayze's character was a bouncer, Gyllenhaal portrays Dalton, a former UFC fighter who abandoned the ring after a disastrous match. Despite leaving the fighting scene, Dalton's reputation precedes him, deterring fighters from challenging him even in underground brawls.

Watch the Trailer of Road House:

In one such brawl, Frankie (Jessica Williams) comes across Dalton and hires him to be a bouncer in her roadhouse in the Florida Keys called er... "Road House". Apart from rambunctious patrons, there are some troublemakers who regularly create chaos at her pub, and Dalton needs to tackle them in his manner.

Of course, he succeeds at his job, but it takes some time for Dalton to realise that the goons were sent there as part of a vested ploy by a haughty business magnate, Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen).

What The New Road House Offers...

In his re-imagining of Road House, Doug Liman (Mr and Mrs Smith, Edge of Tomorrow) Liman strips away some of the original's eccentricities and infuses it with a Western touch. The film follows the classic trope of an anti-hero with a troubled past riding into town to confront villains before riding off into the sunset. The dialogue maintains the jerky, punchy style of the original, and the reduced character count complements the new rendition, with an attractive cast adding to its appeal. Napoleon Movie Review: Joaquin Phoenix Impresses as the French Emperor in Ridley Scott’s Grandiose and Surprisingly Funny Historical Epic.

There are no sex scenes that adorned the original, but Road House is brimming with sex appeal. Jake Gyllenhaal needs no excuse to bare the upper half of the body and its assorted ab cuts whenever he can. Daniela Melchior looks smoking hot in that bikini top and the shirt over it as his love interest character, Ellie, when she takes Dalton on a date on a sandbar.

Former UFC champion Connor McGregor, in his acting debut playing the main antagonist - a disruptor brawler named Knox - will never let you forget his intro scene where he roams a marketplace in the buff. The locales look drop-dead gorgeous, adding to the allure.

What the Road House Has No Space For...

All well and good in visual appeal, but the stripped-down approach doesn't entirely succeed for this new version of Road House. There is no throat-ripping, not enough rowdy action, and no Sam Elliott to mumble his way as the wise mentor.

I get it that some, okay... scratch that, many elements of old Road House might not fit right in the present milieu; never mind, there are filmmakers still attempting to replicate the grindhouse template (see Ethan Coen's Drive-Away Dolls). But if you take away those elements, what you get is simply a run-of-the-mill action film that doesn't have enough action (though the last half an hour is very pulpy) where a perpetually smirky Jake Gyllenhaal punches his way to be the one-man saviour.

You can have the hero and his love interest avoid hitting the sheets, but you still make the leading lady a damsel in distress in the final act. And none of the supporting cast could manage to flesh themselves out beyond the paper-writeup sketches for their characters. I wish Jessica Williams (Shrinking) had more to do; it's a good casting that doesn't take the character anywhere. Luke Gage (Euphoria) is just there, and I am not even sure what Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever) is doing in the film. At least Arturo Castro was funny whenever he popped up.

Billy Magnussen is his usual self playing his trademark spoilt brat role. Well, the standout is Connor McGregor, whose hulking presence and that permanent devilish grin (that competes with Gyllenhaal's smirk) often steal the show, but before I realise that, that's all we will get, apart from the brawn show. I am sure the shirtless climactic fight between him and Gyllenhaal might find its fans, but, hey, I come from the land of Salman Khan, an actor who always finds a reason to tear off his shirt in the final act, and if his villain co-star agrees, take his shirt off too before they get to punching each other. You need more to do, Mr Gylenhaall, to impress us, miserly Indians here.

Final Thoughts on Road House

Does the new Road House feel like an upgrade? With a polished direction and an interesting cast, it certainly feels so in essence. But the real question is, does a film like Road House need an upgrade? It's a product of its time, charming in its own cheesy right. Liman's rendition of Road House is a sleek, sanitised, and stripped-down version, peppered with occasional action sequences, but lacks the spark to elevate it beyond a forgettable one-time viewing experience. Road House is streaming on Prime Video (and so is the older version, in case you want to seek some cheesy nostalgia).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2024 10:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).