Doug Liman provides slick direction and Conor McGregor is a blast, but Road House proves to be a curiously lethargic and charmless remake.
“The name is Dalton”. From the extensive roster of 80s action heroes, none are as unique and memorable as Patrick Swayze’s ass-kicking, philosophy dropping, and mysterious “cooler” James Dalton. The 1989 Rowdy Herrington directed Road House is a cult-action classic for a reason, with its blend of western conventions, martial-arts slug fests, and copious nudity, making it a must watch action melodrama that is as quotable as it is cheesy.
The Doug Liman directed remake fails to live up to its predecessor, with Road House circa 2024 all sheen and no spirit, led by a curiously dull Jake Gyllenhaal who proves that while he is a fine actor, he is not a movie star.
Gyllenhaal stars Elwood Dalton, a disgraced UFC star scrapping the bottom of the barrel in the underground fight circuit. A lifeline arrives in the form of Frankie (Jessica Williams) who offers Dalton a job as head bouncer at a rundown roadhouse – named The Road House – in the Florida Keys, where the clientele are just as likely to smash a beer bottle on your head than to drink it.
Key difference in this Road House is the change of scenery from the rural farmland of Jasper, Missouri, to the Florida Keys. Cinematographer Henry Braham (The Suicide Squad) does a great job capturing the fluorescent blue water of the ocean backdrop, with one stunningly picturesque scene featuring Dalton and his feisty love interest Ellie (Daniela Melchior) relaxing on a sand bank during low tide. If only the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Melchior was half as impressive.
The villain in Road House is Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the son of an imprisoned crime boss who will go to any length to tear down The Road House and build a seaside resort. When Dalton repeatedly stops Brandt’s goons from doing his bidding, Brandt hires Knox (Conor McGregor) a smiling brute who always leaves a path of destruction in his wake. When McGregor is introduced the energy of Road House improves significantly, as the “notorious” UFC legend steals scenes with his natural bravado and cocksure swagger.
While McGregor’s delivery of dialogue is clunky at times, his screen presence is electric, often dwarfing his more experienced co-stars, especially Gyllenhaal who despite being the leading man delivers a passive turn only made memorable by his jacked frame. Where Gylenhaal and indeed Road House as a whole does shine is in the fight scenes. Liman throws his audience right into the thick of the film’s brutal slugfests enhanced by great sound effects in which each thud of fist on flesh is wince inducing.
While the action of Road House is impressive, it cannot save a film that lacks personality and sex appeal, exactly what a remake of a Patrick Swayze classic shouldn’t do.
