This big-budget Amazon MGM Studios remake is more brawn than brains – but still provides some popcorn-crunching entertainment.
A ‘super-ripped’ Jake Gyllenhaal takes on the role of unruly ‘roadhouse’ bouncer Elwood Dalton - which was made famous by Patrick Swayze in the 1989 cult original – switching Missouri for the sun-kissed locale of the Florida Keys.
Conflicted former MMA fighter Dalton – tackling his own demons while making a living as an underground brawler – gets roped into protecting the public house of owner Frankie (Jessica Williams) in the community of Glass Keys, after it continually attracts the wrong kind of punter.
It soon becomes clear that is due to the establishment preventing local crime boss Ben Brandt (Game Night's Billy Magnussen) from building a multi-million-dollar complex – with him hiring thugs to cause chaos to scare Frankie into selling up.
But when Dalton starts to fend off everyone that Brandt sends to attack the Road House, his incarcerated father calls on the services of psychotic enforcer Knox (actual former MMA fighter Conor McGregor), leading to the inevitable face-off.
Throw in a couple of side stories to show Dalton’s ‘human side’ – a friendship with teenage bookstore owner Charlie (Hannah Lanier) and love interest in the form of local doctor Ellie (The Suicide Squad's Daniela Melchior) – and this turns out to be solidly watchable stuff, with a few nice kick-ass action sequences to boot.
There’s a ton of ridiculous plot holes – and McGregor’s acting is excruciatingly bad – but despite being stereotypically generic throughout, Gyllenhaal adds enough charisma to proceedings to make this a notable streaming exclusive.
It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it – and Gyllenhaal shows exactly why he’s still in his Prime.
Rating: 3/5
Gavin Miller
Prime Video Exclusive, Out Now
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Conor McGregor, Jessica Williams & Joaquim De Almeida
Running Time: 2 Hrs 1 Min
Director: Doug Liman