Friday 22 March 2024

VOD: Road House (dir: Doug Liman, 2024)

"Again?  Uh...nope."

In this lightweight MGM/Amazon Original take on the less-than-classic 1980s Patrick Swayze action vehicle, Jake Gyllenhaal takes the (surprise) lead as fighter Dalton, who takes on a bouncer job at a Florida Quays road house, taking a young protégé under his wing as he runs up against a local gang/boss who want the bar.  Laid-back to the point of lethargy, the scenery does not cover the fact that the story is thin and uninteresting and not a lot happens - even the much-hyped naturalistic fighting is mostly limp and perfunctory until the throw-everything-at-it finale.  Unconvincing 'live' bands are interjected seemingly at random, dialogue is at times excruciating, Gyllenhaal is lacklustre at times and Conor McGregor's unhinged bad-guy is quite extraordinary to behold.  In its conception and execution, Road House often disappoints.
 

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