Road House
(2024)

Road House 👊🏽

Mixed Martial Arts legend Conor McGregor has added another discipline to his artistic arsenal as he makes his acting debut alongside Oscar-nominated Jake Gyllenhaal in the remake of the 1989 classic, Road House, which premiered at this year’s SXSW festival.

The story follows Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, ex-UFC fighter Elwood Dalton, who chicken fights his way through the Florida Keys, which allows him to make enough to live a life outside the public eye.

That quickly changes when he takes up a large cash offer from a local Road House owner to protect her business from the local thugs who have been creating havoc for her patrons, which he soon finds out will be much easier said than done.

Road House is the movie equivalent of junk food. It may not be great for you, but on the right day and at the right moment, it will hit the spot.

In my case, it was like they messed up my order.

It had all the makings of a badass, nonchalant action flick, but the Elwood Dalton character was a bit too “I’m above all this, but I’ll play along,” while everyone else felt like they perfectly fit into this campy, over-the-top 80s ripping fisticuff.

Surprisingly, Conor’s character was the best part of the movie. He was perfectly written and totally played to a lot of the antics we see from him in the cage and even outside the octagon. For some, it may be a bit too animated, but for me, it totally worked.

His character elevated what I thought was missing for Dalton, which is why the movie is most entertaining when both are on screen together. The unfortunate part is that the movie drags for the first half, then reaches peak entertainment level in the second when the two finally meet, but by that point, it feels a little too late.

Even so, the end fight scene between the two is one of the most memorable, hard-hitting one-on-one combat scenes I’ve seen, with unique camera angles that added an extra level of oomph to each pop and shot.

I honestly wouldn’t mind revisiting this world, and the way they end it, I would be surprised if they don’t come back to it in some way, shape, or form.

Road House doesn’t have the flair of the original but still manages to use brute strength to deliver on what was advertised: an unadulterated action-infused popcorn flick

Enjoy!

5.9/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 1hr54mins
Where: Now Streaming on Prime Video.
End-Credit Scene: ✅

Road House Review (2024) The Richmond Reviewer -  March 26th, 2024.

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