Road House and all the images you see in this review are owned by Amazon MGM Studios
Directed by Doug Liman
There are a lot of movies that I still need to catch up on, but I never thought the original Road House was necessarily one of them. It had the vibe of something that was a clear product of its time, and with so many amazing action movies since then, I was pretty confident that I hadn’t missed out on much. Perhaps that makes me the target audience for this remake, which certainly looked impressive from the trailers, and I’m always happy to see follow Jake Gyllenhaal to whatever wacky project he signs onto. Is this the update to an eighties classic that both fans and newcomers can love, or will this be another soulless cash grab for those nostalgic bucks? Heck, we already got a crappy Point Blank remake, so why not a lousy Road House one too? Let’s find out!!
In the Florida Keys, there is a bar that is being besieged by drunks and punks who like to get belligerent and tear up the place. If the owner (Jessica Williams) wants to keep the bar from collapsing, both financially and literally, she’s gonna need someone to deescalate situations and put a hurt on anybody who takes things too far. What better person for that role than a down on his luck UFC fighter named Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) who’s good at breaking arms but can’t mend the pain in his soul! Still, a few weeks on sunny beaches drinking coffee and tossing out drunks couldn’t hurt, right? Well, it turns out that there are more than just a few boozehounds trying to take down the bar, and what should have been a period of self-care for the man turns into the greatest challenge of his life. Can Dalton keep the peace in this small town despite being an outsider? Who is behind these vicious attacks on the bar, and what’s waiting in the wings if they can’t get the job done? Imagine being this cool while ALSO having starred in Bubble Boy!
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