REVIEW:
Here’s the thing, Road House, the original Patrick Swayze bouncer movie, is a great film. It’s a classic. Remaking it is almost like remaking Dirty Dancing or Ferris Beuhler’s Day Off (it’s only a matter of time, I’m sure.) Now, if there’s a good story or a new angle that is interesting, than by all means. After all, one has to remember that there have been sequels and remakes that were better than the ir original films (The Thing – John Carpenter remake, Terminate 2 – James Cameron sequel.) But if there’s not anything that makes the movie stand out as cool, or even better than the first movie, than walk away. That’a exactly what director Doug Limacn and Jake Gyllenhal should have done with this nothingburger.
Let’s start with the early scenes. We see Dalton (Gylenahal,) at a crowded fight, in the middle of the ring, when his opponent first beatS a guy, then realizes he has to face Dalton, and backs out. Sounds like the kind of thing you might get in the fights with Mickey (Brad Pitt,) in Snatch. But here, it’s about making us curious, but it’s also kind of unbelievable. Dalton gets hired to bounce at a local bar in the Florida Keys, near Miami And like the Partick Swayze version of Dalton in that original film, this Dalton does not want to fight. Only in that movie, it was explained, “Be Nice,” he taught the other bouncers, “Be Nice. Be Nice. Until it’s time to not be nice.” We don’t get that here. Instead, we get Dalton sitting at the bar having a drink while a fight is going on right beside him. It doesn’t work.
Eventually we get our first real action scene where Dalton steps outside to take on a biker gang of about four guys. It’s a great scene. Probably the best in the entire movie. Of course the movie knows it, which Is why the scene is featured heavily in the trailer, but basically Dalton moves away from guys, ducks and dodges as they throw punches, and slaps his opponents in the face. Unfortunatley the action doesn’t stay this good through the movie. In fact, the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. And the storyline with this range that wants to take over the bar, isn’t all that great either. For a better version of this movie, see Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise. That movie not only features the same kind of street outside the bar fight, but also has a lot more coming after it including a neat little mystery There’s no mystery here in Road House. Nothing to really grab or hold our attention.