Written by: Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida
Rating: [3/5]
Going back to the well to revive films from the past to tap into something with a pre-existing audience has been the name of the game as of late in Hollywood. In certain instances it makes sense but then in others it leaves you scratching your head with Road House being one of those examples. A film in the past not necessarily exceptional other than what Patrick Swayze brought to it but I guess we’re doing this again and for the most part it delivers something borderline entertaining.
Former UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) simply floats through life but then gets approached by Frankie (Jessica Williams), the owner of a bar who has several unruly patrons. She would like to hire Dalton to come in and clean up the place. Initially successful, Dalton begins to learn of a more nefarious plot as to why there are so many bouts and disruptions at the bar.
As much fun as could be experienced with the original Road House, mostly propelled by Patrick Swayze I never thought it had that much interest to garner a remake of it this time set in the Florida Keys. A location that opens the doors to look at how this plot would play out in a different part of the country. The Florida Keys certainly has a certain charm, for a lack of better words, and we get the reinvention of Dalton as a troubled former UFC fighter. Certainly with plenty of baggage following him here, we have a Dalton who not only wants to do his job but also train individuals to take his place but he encounters something much more difficult when taking this job.
Much like the first film the real villain of the feature is not the group of ruffians but rather someone with much more power monetarily who has their eyes set for the land Frankie’s bar sits on. Therefore, Dalton has a larger issue to deal with and it appears the person pulling all the strings evidently has the police in their pocket meaning our protagonist does not have a long list of allies and a growing number of adversaries. This all happens before the introduction of his ultimate adversary, Knox (Conor McGregor). A bold casting choice and one that I would say was a net negative.
When casting non-actors in a role a production takes a big risk and hopes the notoriety they bring can outweigh what they lack in the acting department. When bringing on famous former UFC fighter Conor McGregor into this role, he certainly brought the physicality to it in order to pose a threat to Dalton but his acting left plenty to be desired. Doug Liman, it appears, told McGregor to just go complete psycho for this character and for the most part it just felt like too much. In many elements this film felt like it had its tongue firmly in its cheek but McGregor’s presence simply did not cut the mustard whenever he had to open his mouth. On the other hand, when it came to the hand-to-hand combat he shined and paired well with the fight choreography and style this feature sought to implement.
These action sequences ultimately highlighted what made me land positively on this film overall and it displayed exactly why Doug Liman stepped in and took on this project. These scenes contained some interesting camera movement in the way it positions each of the characters and it brought some energy to the film seeing as the action ultimately remained the main selling point of the film as a whole. Seeing the face offs between Dalton and Knox proved worth the price of admission and it allowed me to look past everything else for the most part.
Admittedly unserious and fairly flawed in driving home its narrative, in bringing back Road House in our consciousness Doug Liman and Jake Gyllenhaal wanted to emulate some of the over the top action and succeeded in doing so. Will I forget about its existence 1 day after watching it? Absolutely, but at the very least within its two-hour runtime it presented an opportunity to watch Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor fight on multiple occasions and allowed Billy Magnussen to play a snivelling rich kid who cannot take care of his own problems.
Films with Josh 
