Despite being a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman, Road House to me was a movie that did not need to be remade. Road House is an absolute 80s classic, Patrick Swayze’s greatest-ever movie and I did not see any universe where a remake was necessary.
How to Download Road House
Road House was released on March 21, 2024. You can download or stream the film from Amazon Prime Video. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
The New Face of Road House: Jake Gyllenhaal Takes the Lead
I remember ages ago seeing pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal at a UFC event looking even more ripped and badass than usual and I was interested in what he was doing. Then I heard it was for a Road House remake and I thought it was the dumbest thing ever! What the heck does the UFC have to do with Road House?
Then I saw the trailer, what was interesting about the trailer was that to me, it felt like the final trailer was not released all that far in advance of the movie’s premiere on Amazon Prime. I watched the trailer and I have to say, the movie looked entertaining as hell, but I could not shake the fact that I felt a Road House remake was not needed at all! Then I read an interview about the movie that stated it was a “reimagining” and not a remake and that along with that epic trailer, made me more interested.
Beyond the Name: How the Remake Diverges from the Original
Apart from the title, Road House, and Jake Gyllenhaal playing a dude called Dalton, this has nothing at all to do with the 80s Swayze classic! You know, I wonder if they had called this something else if it would have been even better received? I loved this movie, but I still feel that calling it Road House, even though it is a “reimagining” was unnecessary.
Dalton’s Journey from the Octagon to Road House
The plot of the movie is quite simple at first. Dalton is a former UFC fighter who killed a guy in a fight. Clearly, Dalton’s life since the incident in the octagon has gone to hell and he finds himself in the small Florida town of Glass Key. Glass Key is located in Florida and there is a lunatic of a man called Brandt who wants to own all the property.
The trouble with this is that there is a bar on the beach called “Road House” and the owner, Frankie has no interest in selling or leaving. This leads to Brandt sending in some goons to cause trouble at the Road House and Dalton just so happens to teach them a lesson. This leads to Frankie offering Dalton 20 grand to work at the Road House to keep Brandt’s goons at bay.
Conor McGregor Shines as the Formidable Knox
Brandt’s father who is in jail is mad as hell about this can calls in his number one enforcer, Knox. Knox is played by UFC legend Conor McGregor and he is freaking awesome! I wondered what kind of actor Connor McGregor would be and turns out, he is just Conor McGregor! He is nuts, he is hilarious and he just goes to the absolute extremes to get the job done which of course puts him on a head on collision with
Dalton is a really likable guy, he is not the badass “be nice until it’s not time to be nice” badass that Patrick Swayze is, but he is still a great character. Even when he is kicking ass, he is friendly, hell, he drives the first batch of goons that he dispatches off to the hospital and even tells the nurse what is wrong with each of them.
Action-Packed and Entertaining: The Remake Delivers
The action scenes in Road House are a ton of fun! It has some brutal hard hitting fighting and the movie is genuinely exciting from start to end. In many ways, it feels like an action movie from the 80s and 90s and I mean that in the most complimentary way. The only way I could see someone not liking this was if they do not like action movies. However, if that is the case, what the heck are you watching Road House for?
A New Appreciation for the Reimagined Road House
I was about as against this Road House reimagining as you can get, I love and I mean love the original and if I had to pick, I would pick Swayze every time. Yet, this is a damn fun movie and a great example of how you can make a “reimagining” work. I really wish this was released in the theatres and not just on Amazon Prime. If this manages to get a physical release, I will 100 percent add it to my collection.
