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Road House (2024)
Despite Jake Gyllenhaal's effective stepping into the late Patrick Swayze's shoes in the starring role, the 2024 testosterone-charged remake of Road House does suffer thanks to a severely overly complex screenplay that makes the film about thirty minutes longer than it needed to be.
Gyllenhaal plays Dalton (we do learn whether or not Dalton is his first or last name in this version BTW), a former UFC fighter who is hired to clean up a bar in the Florida Keys and finds a lot more problems than a rowdy bar when it turns out that he is interfering in the plans of a so-called crime lord named Ben Brandt, a second generation criminal whose father is incarcerated. Word gets to Daddy that Ben is being bamboozled by Dalton so he sends a psychotic beast named Knox to take care of Ben and Dalton.
Three writers were involved in the screenplay here, which is a little more light hearted than the 1989 film. Dalton is infused with a snarky smart ass likability that immediately endears him to the viewer. During his first fight scene at the bar, he is allowed to explain to the half dozen guys he's about to take out how he's going to do it, the exact nature of the injuries he plans to inflict, and makes sure the guys know where the nearest hospital is. Dalton is given an added air of mystery he didn't have in '89 by having him appear on the run, leading to flashbacks explaining why he isn't in the UFC anymore, which add about twenty minutes to the running time and really weren't necessary.
I did like when the Ben Brandt character was finally revealed, we learn that the guy is still being manipulated by his incarcerated father. He's a bit nutty too...when the waves transporting his yacht get a little jumpy, he punches the guy navigating the boat and when he gets angry and throws his cell phone into the ocean, he tells one of his minions to go get it. And let's talk about this Knox, a monster who puts characters like Ivan Drago and Bane to shame. He is first observed stark naked in a farmer's market until he finds someone wearing clothes he likes and beats them off the man, Dalton's final confrontation is memorable, reminding me of the final battle between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon, but, again, went on way too long. The pretty doctor who Swayze romances in the first film is here too, but the role is given more layers than necessary and the role is just as pointless as it was in the '89 film.
What does keep the viewer invested in this unnecessary remake is the movie-star performance by the seriously pumped Gyllenhaal, who just gets more sexy and charismatic as he ages. He makes this movie worth sitting through, as do the underrated Billy Magnussen as Brandt and Conor McGregor as Knox. It's not necessarily worse than the original, but Gyllenhaal definitely makes it worth a look.
Despite Jake Gyllenhaal's effective stepping into the late Patrick Swayze's shoes in the starring role, the 2024 testosterone-charged remake of Road House does suffer thanks to a severely overly complex screenplay that makes the film about thirty minutes longer than it needed to be.
Gyllenhaal plays Dalton (we do learn whether or not Dalton is his first or last name in this version BTW), a former UFC fighter who is hired to clean up a bar in the Florida Keys and finds a lot more problems than a rowdy bar when it turns out that he is interfering in the plans of a so-called crime lord named Ben Brandt, a second generation criminal whose father is incarcerated. Word gets to Daddy that Ben is being bamboozled by Dalton so he sends a psychotic beast named Knox to take care of Ben and Dalton.
Three writers were involved in the screenplay here, which is a little more light hearted than the 1989 film. Dalton is infused with a snarky smart ass likability that immediately endears him to the viewer. During his first fight scene at the bar, he is allowed to explain to the half dozen guys he's about to take out how he's going to do it, the exact nature of the injuries he plans to inflict, and makes sure the guys know where the nearest hospital is. Dalton is given an added air of mystery he didn't have in '89 by having him appear on the run, leading to flashbacks explaining why he isn't in the UFC anymore, which add about twenty minutes to the running time and really weren't necessary.
I did like when the Ben Brandt character was finally revealed, we learn that the guy is still being manipulated by his incarcerated father. He's a bit nutty too...when the waves transporting his yacht get a little jumpy, he punches the guy navigating the boat and when he gets angry and throws his cell phone into the ocean, he tells one of his minions to go get it. And let's talk about this Knox, a monster who puts characters like Ivan Drago and Bane to shame. He is first observed stark naked in a farmer's market until he finds someone wearing clothes he likes and beats them off the man, Dalton's final confrontation is memorable, reminding me of the final battle between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon, but, again, went on way too long. The pretty doctor who Swayze romances in the first film is here too, but the role is given more layers than necessary and the role is just as pointless as it was in the '89 film.
What does keep the viewer invested in this unnecessary remake is the movie-star performance by the seriously pumped Gyllenhaal, who just gets more sexy and charismatic as he ages. He makes this movie worth sitting through, as do the underrated Billy Magnussen as Brandt and Conor McGregor as Knox. It's not necessarily worse than the original, but Gyllenhaal definitely makes it worth a look.