Road House 2024

• Directed by Doug Liman
• March 8, 2024 (SXSW) / March 21, 2024
• Based on Road House by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin
• Prime Video

An ex-UFC fighter takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse and comes into conflict with local criminals.

Anybody who reads my blog knows that I feel remakes should fix any perceived mistakes of the original. Clean up this or that and not just take an idea in broad strokes and slap the name of a beloved property on it. And whatever else you may think of it, Road House ‘89 is by many a beloved property.

I am not sure what Road House ’24 fixes or necessarily improves upon. First of all it moves the action from Missouri to the Florida Keys. Why? I’m not sure how that improves the story. You move from a relatively isolated community to a tourist trap area along a major roadway? Why? Some elements here are very similar, but others are completely different. It’s more like they’re mimicking the original.

There are little references here and there of the original film. That for me is a big no-no in a remake thar is a vaguely similar film because it really jumps out. Such as the name of the fictional book The Double Xs found in the bookstore and everybody in the town knowing Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) much like everybody in the world knew the original Dalton.

And why change the character’s name from James Dalton to Elwood P. Dalton? Copyright reasons? Differentiate it from the original? Just because? I don’t know. This is not unique among remakes where a character gets a name change. For minor characters (should they make it in) it is unnoticeable but for one of any significance it is very obvious. Especially when it comes to the main one.

There was some unintended homoeroticism in the original. You can’t miss it. All the times Wade said “I love you” Dalton. The guy who said he used to fuck guys like Dalton in prison. The fact that Dalton went first for Wade when he decided to leave town rather than his girlfriend. Maybe amplify that if you want to fix or change anything about the original movie. Intentional or not it was there.

And why the CGI? The Swayze did not need such trickery. There is not much here that could not be easily done by stunt doubles or the actors themselves. Aside from an actor or two getting struck by a car there is nothing that The Swayze did not do himself.

Yet despite all my issues, I found myself enjoying this movie. Something about Road House ‘24 is good. It’s entertaining. It’s macho enough. It certainly is much more testosterone filled than many other action films these days making it more in line with an 80s presentation than something released today. While a modern film, there’s still enough of old school machismo without crossing over into the homoeroticism of the original in this.

Jake Gyllenhaal is charming and actually funny when necessary as the tough yet slightly asshole Dalton. Dalton is dangerous (unlike The Swayze) with a dark past (kinda like The Swayze). He’s tougher than the toughest not because he’s a better fighter but because he’s a smarter fighter-like The Swayze. He’s able to understand the situation quickly rather than the amateurs around him and succeeds through an intelligent use of force-like The Swayze.

Gyllenhaal is a good performer. Not my favorite actor but I can often find him enjoyable. They don’t do too much to build up his Dalton. He lost it and killed somebody in the ring because once he is angry he cannot let go. That’s all we get. Yet it is enough to get us from the beginning to the end. Viewers don’t need a complete biography. Viewers don’t need a list of hopes and dreams. They need just enough to make a character believable in what they are seeing at that moment. There is plenty in between that makes Dalton a real enough character that he’s not just two dimensional. Given the situation we are presented with his responses are logical and consistent.

As with any movie the hero is only as good as the villain. Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) is the son of a local man serving a very long time in jail for, well, stuff. Bad stuff of the illegal variety. Ben is more spoiled douche than danger and everything he is doing comes down to a land scheme. He is mild comedy to plain impotent threat getting emasculated by dad and one of dad’s preferred goons.

Conor McGregor plays that preferred goon. As Knox his performance borders on scene stealing. He just comes in having fun with what he is doing. With some more practice he could have a good side hustle playing completely unhinged baddies. He is not there yet in this part but certainly goes all in. And as opposition to Dalton he is well done. I would like to see him get a few more acting lessons and do somebody really bonkers. I definitely think he could pull it off.

The romance between Dalton and Ellie (Daniela Melchior) is okay but ultimately exists to give Dalton a get out of jail free card from the local sheriff who is also her father played by Joaquim de Almeida. Joaquim de Almeida is the go-to guy for Hollywood when they need some menace with intellect.

I went in expecting to hate this movie. Most times any remake is inferior to the original. And while like many remakes this doesn’t have a great deal in common with the original it is still quite good. It exists in this weird spot where it couldn’t go by any other name for people to care about it but by the same token it’s living in the shadow of its predecessor and suffers because of any comparisons. Yet it should not.

I am surprised to say this, but this new Road House is a good movie. You would do very well to watch this. Definitely recommend it!