Road House (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – An ex-UFC middleweight fighter ends up working at a rowdy bar in the Florida Keys where things are not as they seem.

My Take – You have to admit, films starring the late Patrick Swayze, mostly the popular ones, though still simple, silly and fun, haven’t particularly aged really well. Such has also been the case of the 1989 Rowdy Herrington directorial, Road House, a thoroughly ludicrous action romp with a simple premise, a product clearly of its time.

For its re-imagining, director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow), working on a screenplay by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, keeps most streaks from the original film while altering some of what doesn’t work anymore.

Trading the throat-ripping, the philosophy degree, the Sam Elliott role, and the “be nice” gospel for a violent, gritty, and mostly hilarious approach. Even the original’s bouncer-versus-businessman plot is refashioned and almost given some thematic weight, pitting a very charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal against a feral cartoonish Conor McGregor.

Resulting in a gloriously over-the-top action flick that throws punches, delivers laughs, and injects a fresh dose of energy into the classic formula, while boasting a wonderfully original take on the action hero archetype.

Sure, it isn’t here to reinvent the wheel, but considering how it is expertly handled by director Liman and wittily scripted, it definitely makes a case for itself how it could have done well in theaters.

Something which remains a source of contention from its director, who in January had planned to boycott its premiere at SXSW after claiming Amazon chose to place it on streaming instead of on the big screen, despite contrary reports, including from Gyllenhaal himself.

Personally, I believe this could have been a solid hit for the current post-awards season/pre-summer blockbuster season due to its good old-fashioned campy action flick approach with well-choreographed violent fight scenes and enough one-liners to keep one smiling throughout the runtime.

The story follows Elwood Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled former UFC middleweight fighter, who lives in his car and makes his living by participating in illegal underground fighting rings. But due to his unhinged reputation, he rarely engages, as most of his opponents tend to concede as soon as they lay eyes on him.

However, a life changing opportunity comes in the form of Frankie (Jessica Williams), the owner of an unruly roadhouse in Florida Keys who offers to recruit him. Despite its idyllic seafront location, great cocktails, and nightly live music, the Road House is tormented by a biker gang of thugs led by Dell (J. D. Pardo) and Frankie needs a head bouncer to keep the violent thugs out to her keep her family’s business running.

Initially hesitant, Dalton decides to take up the offer, after a narrowly averted suicide attempt, and finds himself immediately taken with the scenic town, the Road House, his new colleagues, and its people, especially Ellie (Daniela Melchior), an ER doctor.

But, there’s more to this small Florida Keys town than meets the eye, and soon Dalton finds himself facing bigger threats from the likes of crime boss, Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the town’s corrupt sheriff (Joaquim de Almeida), and the hulking Irish assassin, Knoxx (Conor McGregor).

As expected, the film retains the simple yet effective premise which sees a quirky broody hero with a dark past taking it upon himself to protect a dying bar from the bad guys. But the films are different tonally, even though the new film is exactly what you’d hope for from a new iteration of an ‘80s classic in most ways, the remake diverges so much from its source material that it could have been called anything else and you wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was a new version of a timeless favorite.

The biggest reason for that is how director Liman and his writers craft their protagonist. The first half of the film is surprisingly subdued, as we get to know the main character and the locals, and it isn’t until Knox shows up that the film really takes off, switching gears. Ensuing chaos, with a fire, explosions, several deaths and an epic showdown between Dalton and Knox.

To director Liman and the screenwriters’ credit, the shift from cartoonish action to drama-with-moments-of-heightened-action feels modern and fresh without completely eschewing the spirit of the original film. The fights never disappoint, so much so that I wish there were more of them.

The only time the film suffers is when it tries to half-heartedly expand on the many side characters of the original. There are even some intriguing aspects to the portrayal of a rich white dude and his sheriff’s-department cronies terrorizing a mostly low-income and non-white community. Unfortunately, there’s not much commentary to it.

Performance wise, Jake Gyllenhaal makes the most of his role. He manages to find nuance in what is, on paper, a fairly standard, testosterone-fuelled figure. As cheesy as it may sound, this Dalton really is a new kind of action hero, as caring and sensitive as he is ruthlessly violent when he needs to be. This guy actually smiles. A lot. Yet the star is also believable as a fighter who’s clearly having a great time showing the local thugs what for, in a series of brilliantly choreographed mass brawls.

Daniela Melchior doesn’t have much to do, but manages to be charming enough to make the on-screen speedy romance work. Billy Magnusson is entertaining as the smug douche bag criminal kingpin. However, it is real-life MMA superstar Conor McGregor who, in his debut film role, manages to steal the show. He overacts and it works for the character and his personality.

In other roles, Arturo Castro is hilarious and Jessica Williams is likable, while Joaquim de Almeida, JD Pardo, Lukas Gage, B.K. Cannon, Dominic Columbus, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet, Bob Menery, Jay Hieron, Travis Van Winkle, Kevin Caroll and Hannah Lanier add great support. On the whole, ‘Road House’ is a good old-fashioned campy action flick that is charmingly violent and a lot of fun.