Summary
If the remake “Road houses” encourages people to go back and watch the original film, then that, frankly, is its main success. Jake isn't bad, but he lacks Swayze's charisma, and the main villain looks boring. In fact, the film benefits from the comic performance of Connor's character. He's not scary, just funny. The final fight is interesting, but there's nothing that really justifies why it was done. I think if it weren't called "Road House“, it would have been more favorably received, but even then it's not amazing, just entertaining.
Plot
Former UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not what it seems.
Review
I think a lot of us weren't going to give this movie a chance because Road House is an 80's classic that should just be left alone. Hollywood needs to abandon the concept of “remember all” and realizing that what worked in the 80s doesn’t work now for “modern audiences”… whatever that means.
I really tried to go into this remake with an open mind, and I'll admit it was a fun time, but as good as it was Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton, he could never match Swayze. There's no real character development, and most of the rest of the cast is forgettable, and only Conor McGregor stole the show with his crazy antics. He's the best thing about the movie, and his final showdown with Dalton is the highlight of the movie.
The combat here is a mixed bag; there are some cool moments, but there is some distracting CGI. Why does a movie set in the real world use CGI?
The film simply lacks the charisma and splendor of the original, and the villain Brandt should rather be renamed Bland [approx. “Bland” – from English – “mediocre”] because it leaves little impression. Brad Wesley in the original was scary as hell and his whole gang seemed genuinely evil, whereas here it almost feels like a parody at times with too much goofy humor. The film also didn't need to be two hours long; Several scenes could have been cut to achieve good pacing and keep it to an hour and forty minutes.
Despite all the shortcomings, “House by the road” is an entertaining enough spectacle that makes for a nice distraction on a Saturday night over a couple of beers... or you can just watch the original, which is still amazing.
I know that the director Doug Liman wanted this movie to be released in theaters, but I can see why it didn't happen since it looks and feels like a movie made for streaming. If they did a double screening showing both this film and the original, I would gladly agree to it.
Overall, for most viewers “House by the road” will quickly be forgotten as this film's target audience grew up with the excellent original. It's not terrible and is elevated to a sane level thanks to the extravagant antics Conor McGregor and some decent action scenes, but I'd suggest just watching the original instead.
Posted by Eoin Friel, TheActionElite
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Tags: Road House, Doug Liman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor
Tags: Road House, Doug Liman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor
So far I haven't heard a single good review about the remake from anyone. The original was strong because of Patrick Swayze, who did not fit into the stereotypical image of a bouncer from a pub. Jake immediately aroused hostility, not because he is a bad actor, that’s not it. Dalton was such a modern samurai “no one ever wins in a fight,” but according to the trailers they made him into a punch-in-the-face kind of guy. But Connor could make Marshall Teague, he is very charismatic. In general, I’ll wait a year, then when the passions calm down I’ll take a look.