The original “Road House,” starring Patrick Swayze as the philosopher-bouncer who immortalizes lines like “Pain don’t hurt,” has long been considered the guilty pleasure of pleasures, appearing to be on repeat on cable. A 35-year-later sequel, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the hesitant warrior carrying a little more baggage, returns some of that fascination to Amazon in a picture that is equally goofy, hilarious, and brutally violent—though not always in that order. Among the outgoings is Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of bouncer Dalton, who goes by a first name and isn’t really good at cleaning bars. When he makes a layup, no one ever genuinely informs him that they thought he would be bigger because of his reputation.
Instead, the weary former mixed-martial-arts fighter is hired for the main mission of the movie by Jessica Williams, the rather new owner of a place called The Road House in the Florida Keys, who asks for his assistance in getting rid of the more seedy aspects of the establishment in order to make a go of it. Dalton is first hesitant to accept the job, but circumstances force him to accept, and he soon proves why you shouldn’t mess with him. He asks a group of hooligans riding motorcycles, “Before we start, do you have insurance?” before eliminating them with ease; this reminds me a little bit of the elevator scene in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Unfortunately, “Road House” likely peaks there before bringing in aspects from the previous film, such as the ostensibly attractive ER physician (“The Suicide Squad’s”), Daniela Melchior, to whom Dalton frequently refers patients, and the stereotypical bad guy (Billy Magnussen), who is determined to drive the owner of The Road House away in order to seize control of the establishment. In addition, a muscle-for-hire type—played here by UFC champion Conor McGregor—is brought in to handle Dalton when the local talent is unable to handle the task. McGregor has a swaggering physical presence, but even when he barks out simple tough-guy dialogue, his acting is still developing. The director Doug Liman, whose credits include “The Bourne Identity” starring Matt Damon, infuses some of that energetic approach into these fast-paced, vicious action scenes. Gyllenhaal, who has toned down for the role, adds a little more smartassiness to this iteration, but his struggle to control his resentful side and his dark secret feel particularly corny—not that it matters much for the task at hand.
By that criterion, new “Road House” mimics the original’s core appeal without quite duplicating it. Given the nostalgia effect, this should have given the film a chance, similar to Dalton’s, to outperform its class at the box office. Because of this, Liman’s public dissatisfaction with the choice to send the film straight to Amazon’s Prime Video—which includes an opinion piece for Deadline—feels justified, even though it probably meant losing out on some revenue. Similar to the 1989 film, “Road House,” the plot thickens at the conclusion when Dalton is required to clean up the entire lawless town, not just the bar. However, the gorgeous location at least makes for a more visually stunning finale than simply bursting into the villain’s home. Any reboot’s difficulty is always to take what worked so well about its original concept and add new elements to it. On that level, “Road House” is a passable film, especially for the target group, although it should be noted that being bigger and trying to look bigger aren’t always the same thing.
