Road House (1989)

[Drunk Monk]

Road House. Jake Gyllenhall directed by my nemesis Doug Liman. March 21

That was some tasty ultravi.

For a moment, I regretted not writing something about this. But then I remembered that I did back in Sep 22 for Den. That article succumbed to a cliche ending question (a weak writing device when you don’t have a better conclusion). I asked - Will Amazon’s Road House be able to live up to the original?

Well, it does. It even exceeds it on some levels. Jake nails what he’s doing with the role, and even gives Dalton some shallow depth (I know, oxymoron, but it’s still Road House so it’s still shallow). Jake makes Dalton his own. He looks great - chiseled and yoked. There’s some adjustments to the characters but it’s essentially the same story.

It preserves some of the cheesiness but doesn’t dare challenge the gratuitous 80s cheese. There’s no boobs, just some ass (not the ass you want to see but it works for this). Even the bar bands are pretty rockin’. And the fights are solid - Jake sells a punch astonishingly well and manages some complex sequences. The action and stunt sequences are superb. 

What really sells it is Conor. He was a great UFC bad boy and he’s an over the top villain. Talk about selling a punch. Conor can move. His strikes have that authentic attitude and his character is basically a monster asshole, not far from how he is in real life. 

Totally D00M recommended.