Road House
AMAZON
It's hard to feel anything but surprise when Doug Liman began production on a remake of the Patrick Swayze cult classic Road House; not only is it starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the role previously played by Swayze, but it’s equally as dumbfounding in casting controversial and genuine UFC fighter Conor McGregor as his antagonistic opposite. The real shock is that not only does everything above work, but Liman's Road House might just be one of the most fun and entertaining features released this year. To be as clear as possible, Road House is silly – quite frankly it's dumb throughout – but it is those exact sentiments that carry this feature across the finishing line in a blaze of roaring fire.
It's quite difficult where to start with this remake, so beginning with the most upfront and clear would be to discuss Gyllenhaal. As an actor, Gyllenhaal has never feared pushing his body, be it the opposing lines of Southpaw and Nightcrawler or the pedigree of performance in Velvet Buzzsaw or Stronger. He understands the material of Road House and, with his character Dalton, Gyllenhaal crafts an engaging and comedically rich albeit with staunch credibility in a performance that is both fun and entertaining. Granted, this comedic embellishment in how Gyllenhaal delivers lines or his verbal caveats to others is the most obvious and engaging aspect of his character but, when the tone demands it, Gyllenhaal equally excels at a little brevity and nuance of a character who, underneath, is both suffering and tormented with previous battles internally and externally. It gives a little credibility and mileage to the events that transpire and a little vulnerability to proceedings as well as humanity to see Gyllenhaal's Dalton not as an untouchable superhero but as a person running and continually finding violence, in the false hope of change.
It is just a shame that Liman and the creative team don't necessarily further expand or give creative nuance to this film and thus character. One specific example finds an almost suicidal Dalton at a crossroads in his life and where better for Liman to position this character literally? Yeah, on a train-track crossroad. Granted, it is a feature that isn't particularly interested in the wider themes and to that degree would be a fair enough response. Nevertheless, there is an attempt to craft and evoke a sense of substance and it is just that lack of conviction that underwhelms. That being said after the bright spark of visual thematic weight at the crossroads, Liman and Road House throw all decorum of real life out the window and fully embrace the silliness and stupendous nature of what Road House is: a dude fighting other dudes for fun. Yes, it is a little bit more than that but, ultimately, this is the sentiment that Liman finds his thesis and rolls on with superb Michael Bay-inspired fashion.
The first thing to compare this to in fact would be Bay's stupendously silly albeit kinetic and action-fueled romp Bad Boys II. Not only in conviction but the terrific balance of action and disbelief, often enough forgetting the characters involved are mortals but using them as rag dolls regardless with fantastic results. Liman treats Road House and Dalton in such a manner of preposterous, unravelling fun. One moment hit by a car, the next blowing up yachts, the next being thrown around a bar like a bag in the wind. It never stops evolving and ceasing to be vastly entertaining. The question that arises with these attributes is how Liman orchestrates the use of CGI work here. Firstly, in the larger moments of boat chases and explosions, they can be slightly rocky but never take away from the impending fun or entertainment value provided. The second use and most difficult is how Road House implements CGI to construct fight sequences that give a potentially more genuine and hard-hitting approach of contact but more fluidity with the camera and in editing. Viewers not looking for the cuts and edits will gladly never pick such instances up, others who are more akin to this genre will be a little more perplexed and harsh. For the most part, this technique succeeds but when it doesn't and the flow stops and the uncanny valley of CGI enters the foray it is unabashedly obvious. Now when the likes of Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins and other creative action teams are showcasing a more authentic and dynamic ability to orchestrate said techniques, Road House is and can often be frustrating for a Hollywood production not to get it right. However, it is an early – in all fairness – attempt at trying to make a greater more rewarding experience. Some will say "If it isn't broken don't fix it", others will say more evolution will be added to the much-needed safety on-set for crew and stunt performers. It will ultimately come down to preference but sure enough, once the technological aspects are more fine-tuned it will be an interesting turn of developments to see how far it can be pushed.
The fun and controversy don't quite stop there. Added to the cast and genuine ridiculousness of events is the casting of the villain in Conon McGregor as Knox. An Irish devil who simply wants to fight and watch the world burn. To say the conviction is chaotic and out of balance would be an understatement. Throughout, he is utterly menacing and pedantic to keep it simple, yet both charismatic and unavoidable to watch on-screen. It is Tommy Wiseau chaotic, but McGregor is arguably the only actor who just wants to evoke that very sense of chaos on screen through his character that the film equally wants and desperately tries to project. To that degree, it works ten-fold in being both entertaining and charismatic, especially when McGregor isn't afraid of letting his ego down and having fun with his persona, which the feature gladly and happily plays with. Certain line deliveries and small tight pieces of dialogue McGregor delivers are both iconic yet unabashedly unwatchable, but the whole performance slowly but surely settles in tangent with the ridiculousness and chaos of where the feature itself travels. Ironically enough the narrative and plot are at odds in terms of chaos with McGregor and continually battle out for dominance of which it has to be said the actor wins and seemingly wants to further and prolong. And to his credit, as for what a debut entails McGregor has succeeded in every element of what is demanded and in what he is needed to convict upon this character which is a success.
Granted, it doesn't all come together. Narratively, Road House is nothing short of wild and genuinely perplexing to see develop. As aforementioned, this is a feature that is constantly trying to one-up its villain and therefore never knows when to stop and that not only comes in the magnitude of the set-piece (be it the alligator or bombs) but also in the unravelling of narrative direction. Writers Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry's screenplay is massive in terms of wanting to build a world around Dalton and have those characters and moments ultimately reflect upon him, but the magnitude of said sub-plots are not only underwhelming but underwritten. Be it the romantic sub-plot of the delightful and charming Daniela Melchior but then it has an additional array of material with her father, played by Joaquim de Almeida, and it all has to lead back to the central character. Then the villain of the piece (Billy Magnussen) gets lost in the shuffle and while he does add sincerity in comedy and texture, it is yet another character that gets lost in the array of material and is then disposed of.
That all being said, even with the small albeit strong misgivings this has, it can and should deliver more. Understandably, the less said about the original sequel to Road House the better, Liman's film just can't let McGegor's villain rest and seemingly having too much fun to press pause in this world. More so is the repeatedly stated but unseen father to Billy Magnussen's character who, of course, has to find revenge on Dalton eventually, and if Road House 2: Roadhouser ever comes to fruition with a better balance of both writing material and greater technological advancements and understanding, it really would be worth taking a look and earning a cinematic release.
