When a director sets out to remake a classic movie they have to accomplish two seemingly opposite goals to be successful. The first thing they have to do is capture what made the original special, lest their versions pales in comparison. The second is they have to offer viewers something new and fresh to justify the film’s existence. That’s the dual challenge facing Doug Liman with his remake of 1989’s Road House. Can he pull it off? The first trailer for Road House gives us reason to believe he might. It still has the same structure that worked so well for the ’80s action film without being a carbon copy of the story. More importantly, just like Patrick Swayze’s iconic character, star Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Dalton is still the world’s coolest and calmest ass-kicker.
As an unabashed lover of the original Road House, I was skeptical about this remake. Why mess with perfection? It remains to be seen if the movie will win me over completely. But I am more hopeful about this film after seeing this Road House trailer. Turns out “coolest guy in the world beats up evil villains” is a pretty unimpeachable premise. That’s true whether the world’s best bouncer holds a Ph.D or just needed a job after leaving the Octagon.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Prime Video:
In this adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
The film also stars Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almedia, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, and Darren Barnet. And while it’s a bummer to see someone like Conor McGregor in a fun movie we’re excited to see, it’ll be worth it if we get to watch Dalton rip his throat out when the film arrives on Prime Video starting Thursday, March 21.
Some things always work, and the cool guy beating up a bad dude is one of them.
