Time: 121 Minutes
Cast:
Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton
Daniela Melchior as Ellie
Conor McGregor as Knox
Billy Magnussen as Ben Brandt
Jessica Williams as Frankie
B.K. Cannon as Laura
Joaquim de Almeida as Sheriff
Director: Doug Liman

I had never seen the original Road House, all I knew was that it was an 80s classic starring Patrick Swayze. So when I heard it was getting a remake from director Doug Liman and lead starring Jake Gyllenhaal, I was open to it. Overall, I enjoyed it.

The writing isn’t that good, and is very basic and formulaic. For an action movie though, it works fine enough. It is cheesy and silly enough that it is entertaining, and it is also a genuinely funny movie. So while many of the plot beats and characters aren’t special, it is consistently enjoyable throughout.

Jake Gyllenhaal is charming and solid in the lead role of this ex-fighter who takes on the job of a bouncer. Daniela Melchior is decent, though her romantic subplot with Gyllenhaal really didn’t add a whole lot. Billy Magnussen is quite entertaining as one of the main villains, he definitely plays it up and knows what kind of a movie he’s in. Then there’s Conor McGregor; I have seen such a range of reactions to his performance, but I’m one of the people who really liked him in this. It is such an unbelievably deranged, maniacal and scene chewing performance that it’s kind of a delight whenever he appears on screen, and that’s even outside of his fighting scenes. It does add something to the experience and is one of the most memorable parts, even if he’s introduced roughly halfway into the film.

Doug Liman has definitely directed better movies, but his work here is solid. Some of the visual effects are definitely dodgy, but the action sequences are enjoyable, with well choreographed fights and uses some interesting sweeping camerawork which might not necessarily work for everyone (at least based on the reactions I’ve seen).

Road House is very flawed, but quite enjoyable, with some fun and silly performances and entertaining action scenes.