I think we can all agree that Patrick Swayze and the 1989 ROAD HOUSE is a masterpiece of epic proportions. Okay so maybe not, but it kicks hard in all sorts of 80’s awesomeness. 35 years later does the new 2024 ROAD HOUSE with Jake Gyllenhaal match that genre specific time in our lives where a movie could be so ridiculous and cool at the same time? No. But it’s not trying to be and it’s still a pretty good time.
Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an ex-UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse, aptly named The Roadhouse, in the Florida Keys. He soon discovers there is a rich guy (played by scenery chewing Billy Magnussen) who wants this nightclub to close and they will spare no expense and spare as many tough guys as they can to take Dalton and the Roadhouse down.
The plot is slightly different with a few of the core elements. However, Dalton’s tough guy fight comes head to head with the nearly insane Knox, played by real life UFC fighter Conor McGregor. The plot to the original Road House was just as ridiculous, which made for a lot of the fun. What this current film is missing is that training aspect of Swayze cleaning up the bar with his firing of corrupt behavior and teaching the rest of the crew how to fight by not fighting and being, “nice.”
The action is fun, but a bit all over the place as well. Director Doug Liman (EDGE OF TOMORROW, MR. & MRS. SMITH, and THE BOURNE IDENTITY). Sometimes he uses a POV fighting style and sometimes the camera is super shaky with crazy tight shots, and sometimes you can even see the CGI elements. Liman is definitely exploring choices, but it also feels a bit chaotic. The hyper-realism with overt special effects has, dare I say, an amateurish appearance. Far be it from me to criticize such an established director’s choices. But I’m not sure his intentions were fully achieved.
I enjoyed ROAD HOUSE 2024. I’m not sure what people are expecting to see remaking a beloved Swayze film that is also super ridiculous. I think audiences forget that aspect. It’s about a famous bouncer so good at his job, that clubs will pay him an absurd amount of money to clean up their bar. But these type of movies can be a silly good time. For the most part, ROAD HOUSE succeeds as that direct to streaming type of enjoyable movie. Gyllenhaal is the right guy for the job with just the right mix of tough, charisma and oddness. It’s not some incredible piece of film. In fact, it’s kind of bad. But ROAD HOUSE is good at being intentionally dumb and fun. I would watch another adventure with Dalton cleaning up a small town situation.
