Remaking Road House is a uniquely difficult undertaking. The 1989 meathead action cult classic has such a specific flavor of period-era camp coursing through its veins that the vast majority of the attempts to recapture it would come off as either insincere or obnoxiously ironic. It's the kind of fine-tuned, turn-your-brain off movie that can only be made by people who have a deep understanding of the fine art of unapologetic idiocy. After many false starts over many years, a Road House remake finally materialized with Doug Liman behind the camera and Jake Gyllenhaal playing the role of famed drifter/bouncer/lethal ass-kicker Dalton that was made famous by the late Patrick Swayze. So, did they crack the code of Road House or fail spectacularly trying? Quite frankly, neither.
Road House' 24 is often fun on its own terms. Gyllenhaal is a hoot as a soft-spoken, affable guy who is capable of laying down ruthless beatdowns when called upon, Liman's direction is sufficiently energetic, and the plethora of fight scenes have visceral choreography and pretty solid editing. But as a reimaging of Road House, it's only somewhat successful because it doesn't commit hard enough to modernizing the original film's signature aesthetic. The pendulum between perfect homages (the villainous turns by Billy Magnussen as the slimeball crime boss looking to intimidate the owner of the titular bar-played by Jessica Williams-into selling him the property and Conor McGregor as the cocky, swaggering psycho that is hired to kill Dalton once several local goons fail to, its usage of hilarious corny one-liners, the first fight scene with McGregor's character where the band keeps playing while a full-blown brawl breaks out at the bar) and baffling betrayals (the use of CGI to speed up nearly every fight scene, extended periods where the material is either too serious or intentionally comedic, an appalling lack of t***** r***) swings back and forth so frequently it just about swings off its pivot.
What makes this whole constantly shifting up-and-down quality of the reboot particularly frustrating is that it regularly displays a firm understanding of what made the original so special while simultaneously establishing its own goofy voice. That's the exact kind of energy that this entire movie needed to truly thrive, but for whatever reason, Liman was eager to keep trying other things out. Save that for a more ambitious affair Mr. Liman, this is a fucking Road House remake! You were somehow able to find the right tone for one of the most singular pieces of cinema ever willed into existence then decided to regularly stray away from it just for shits? That's a pretty brutal fumble out of the back of the endzone and while his team was still able to squeak out a win, I won't forget just how damn close they were to turning Road House into a statement victory.
Grade: B
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