So now that Amazon Studios bought MGM from Sony, what's the first thing they have planned? Well, make Reboots from their newfound franchise films from the 80's of course!
Starting with an obscure but cult favorite Roadhouse featuring the late Patrick Swayze, but in this Joel Silver remake, there’s a jacked Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton a drifter with mixed martial arts training who is hired as a bouncer for you guessed-"The Roadhouse.:
Our protagonist Dalton has a checkered past which judging from the flashbacks you can do the math of why he became this "humanitarian" after administering beat downs.
But how long will it take for him to lose his cool, when facing a group of shitstirring thugs asThe Roadhouse is constantly visited by troublemakers who harass customers while wrecking the establishment. This movie reminds me of that old G.I. Joe episode where Cobra hires biker thugs to terrorize Roadblock's family until they sale their diner which could be used as a missile base.
But that was nearly the same premise as the original Roadhouse, where some criminal syndicate intimidates a restaurant owner into giving up their establishment, but I digress.
This reboot is known for the debut of UFC's Conor McGregor who plays Knox, with bad eurotrash mannerisms kinda like McGregor. And when Knox isn't picking a fight, he's walking bare assed. I can't say whether McGregor is a good actor as he basically played himself as Knox.
Jake's character comes off a bit like Spider-Man where he’s often wisecracking prior to engaging in a fight.
Speaking of which, Mr. Gyllenhaal would have been great casting as the OG Moon Knight, Marc Spector as Dalton is a bit off the rails as with Marvel's mentally challenged vigilante.
This reboot is full of expletives be it a torrent of f bombs and assholes, the word of course. The fight cinematography has more dimension, but the scenes often rely heavily on lazy techniques i.e. CGI which may have borrowed a bit from Creed 3's final fight which Michael B. Jordan attributes its inspiration from Anime believe it or not. As with most remakes or Reboots Roadhouse never lives up to the original’s potential. The story goes a bit on autopilot and the romance angle is squandered in favor of the man with inner demons’ trope.
The finale is somewhat anticlimactic but it's doable and there's a silly but humorous mid credits scene. If you want to kill time watching a testosterone filled a actioner on a lazy day, wondering what all the fuss is all about, I can reluctantly recommend Roadhouse but you're better off watching the original as it adds more depth.