Starring Patrick Swayze as the bouncer with a past, who is hired to restore calm to a rough roadside bar in Missouri, "Road House" was slated by many critics when it came out in 1989, "but has since become a cult favourite", said Nicholas Barber on BBC Culture.
Now, we have a loose remake, starring a "ridiculously buff" Jake Gyllenhaal in the Swayze role. He plays Elwood Dalton, a mixed martial arts champ whose career ended after he "pummelled an opponent to death". Elwood is inhabiting a seedy world of bare-knuckle boxing when he is persuaded by Frankie (Jessica Williams) to come and drive the brawling bikers out of her beach bar in Florida (which is called Road House, but isn't one). Cue a host of fight sequences in which Elwood breaks arms, cracks heads and sends bodies flying. It's all watchable enough, but the punch-ups are not as well choreographed as in the original, and though it contains decent lines, the film as a whole contrives to be both mindless and over-complicated, with lots of characters and subplots that are thrown in, but not developed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellationCartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop sceneIn the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Crossword: July 26, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Connie Francis: superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim RobinsonThe Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
-
6 head-turning homes for town house livingFeature Featuring a roof deck with city views in South Carolina and a renovated Harlem brownstone in New York City
-
Bookish: delightful period detective drama from Mark GatissThe Week Recommends 'Cosy crime' series is a 'standout pleasure' in an Agatha Christie-style formula
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and ClipseFeature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs TonightFeature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the FlowersFeature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
