Road House review: Jake Gyllenhaal is a class act in slick remake
There's a 'new sheriff in town' feel to director Doug Liman's reimagining of the 1980s flick.
After debuting in 1989, the original Road House about a buff bouncer ridding a small-town nightspot of its undesirables was just the ticket for a boozy night in with a six-pack and fans of bare-knuckle baloney for company, but has generated a cult following since, not least because of star Patrick Swayze.
Fresh from his eye-catching turn in Dirty Dancing, Swayze oozed cool as Dalton ('80s mullet, notwithstanding) and confirmed he had action chops as well as dance moves in an entertaining modern riff on the Western from the aptly named director, Rowdy Herrington.
There's a 'new sheriff in town' feel to director Doug Liman's slick reimagining, too, only here Dalton (played with nonchalant charm by Jake Gyllenhaal) is a disgraced UFC fighter haunted by his past (think John Wayne's The Quiet Man), who uses his pugilistic skills to pulverise the thugs menacing a beachfront club in the Florida Keys.
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Unlike the Swayze version, Gyllenhaal’s Dalton is depressed, down at heel and sleeping in his car before a desperate club owner offers him an alternative to eking out a living in grimy underground fights where his tarnished reputation precedes him.
On arriving in sunny Glass Key, the genial Gyllenhaal is soon befriended by the locals – young bouncer Billy (Lukas Gage, The White Lotus), precocious teenager Charlie (Hannah Lanier) – and warning off a biker gang (led by Mayans MC star JD Pardo) with wry lines like, "Do you have insurance?" before "dispatching" them to the nearest hospital where he piques the interest of night nurse Ellie (The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior).
Of course, there is more to the plot than bone-crunching bar-room brawls, as Dalton’s muscular intervention is also upsetting the get-richer schemes of twitchy land developer Brandt (an OTT Billy Magnussen), who resorts to calling in an equaliser.
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Cue the introduction of Knox, played with swaggering brio by legendary MMA fighter Conor McGregor (in his feature debut), an entrance so gleefully badass, it needs to be seen to be believed.
A manic force of nature, Knox proves to be a formidable and dangerously unpredictable adversary for our redoubtable hero, and with a director who helped to launch the Jason Bourne franchise at the helm, you are guaranteed bold stunts and electrifying fight scenes awash with UFC-intensity immersive PoV pounding.
It's a shame as much effort wasn’t put into adding dimension to the supporting characters, or even to Brandt’s other heavies, played by the likes of Joaquim De Almeida (Desperado) and Beau Knapp (The Nice Guys), who barely get a look in here. At least the '89 version had Sam Elliott at his scene-stealing best as Swayze’s grizzled mentor.
However, Gyllenhaal is a class act and gives a riveting performance, even when faced with the bristling bravado of McGregor, who must surely have a future in action franchises to come.
The star has emulated his physique from 2015 boxing flick Southpaw and then some, sporting a six-pack that could lay you out if the film was in 3D!
Road House will land globally on Prime Video on Thursday 21st March – try Prime Video for free for 30 days.
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