Jake Gyllenhaal gets ripped for a mindless action fix, directed by Doug Liman, but the new movie lacks the heart of the original.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dalton, a character made popular by Patrick Swayze in his heyday in 1989, in a movie with the same name. Doug Liman, the director of some amazing movies like Swingers, The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow, is back to the action genre. The action is great as the punches are dropped hard in the many hand-to-hand combat scenes the movie delivers. However, the story and characterization are too weak for the audience to care.
An ex-UFC fighter, we meet Dalton at a low point in his life. Frankie (Jessica Williams) has a problem that’s in desperate need of solving and the sight of the insanely ripped Dalton gives her hope. In case you missed witnessing Gyllenhaal’s body, don’t worry. Gyllehaal’s topless sight can be seen many times throughout the movie. One can surmise the title’s Road House is based in Florida, just so we can see Gyllenhaal’s transformation every few minutes of the movie.
The Road House is under attack by a rich bitch called Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen, entertaining as always despite being in the unfamiliar territory of playing the bad guy) whose father owns the town. Frankie wants to put the establishment in order and offers Dalton a job as a bouncer/cooler at Road House. Not fully knowing what the job entails, Dalton accepts, moves into the new town and gets friendly with the local folk such as Charlie (Hannah Love Lanier, delightful as someone that’s meant to humanise Dalton) and her father, Stephen (Kevin Carroll). He also falls in love with a doctor (Daniela Melchior) just like in the original.
Dalton avoids violence because he’s aware of the damage he can cause, not just to the punchee, but also to the people that get close to Dalton. Despite this inner turmoil, Dalton seems to enjoy the violence he has invited with his new job as the conflict quickly devolves into fight scenes. The most dangerous element against him is Knox (Conor McGregor), a hired hand to manage the ‘Dalton’ problem for the Brandts. McGregor looks deadly and scary and is good at pretend fighting, too. But, the man can’t act.
The action is cold and hard. Gyllenhaal’s body transformation pays off as he stands tall and justifiably challenging against McGregor. The new multi-pass technology gives the action scenes an edgy and intense feel. The South American vibe of the music and photography are also cool.
Besides the action and Gyllenhaal’s million-dollar smile and body, there isn’t much to entertain in Road House. As Charlie compares Dalton’s journey to a Western, the filmmakers are surely aware of the extensive movies made with this same story for over a hundred years. What makes a movie entertaining and long-lasting is the writing which is sadly missing in the movie. Except for Dalton, all the other characters are stand-ins for stereotypes that have gone stale. And Dalton going full John Rambo in the movie doesn’t bode well for the character. In the original, Dalton was better than that. He was an inspiration. Here, he is a disappointment.Â
Road House is a straight-up action movie that reinvents action in movies and it’ll be exciting to see where this new technology will take the genre. But the movie doesn’t represent the best of the genre. Sadly, it doesn’t even come close.