Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Road House’ Remake Punches Way Above Its Weight

The road to Road House has been a bumpy one. Prime Video’s reimagining of the 1989 classic starring Patrick Swayze has been dotted with precarious mile markers signifying that critics and viewers might want to turn back before it’s too late.

First, there was the fact that the Road House reimagining has been languishing in production purgatory since it was first announced all the way back in 2013. Then, after finally securing a director and cast after Amazon promised to funnel a billion dollars into filmmaking with its purchase of MGM, the film hit another yield sign. Director Doug Liman wrote a scathing (and slightly pompous) editorial in Deadline complaining that Amazon did not honor their promise, and is hindering the film by sending it straight to Prime Video without any theatrical release. Finally, R. Lance Hill, who wrote the original film, filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and the use of AI-generated actor voices to complete the film’s production during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

With all of those obstacles scuttled about the road in front of Road House, it briefly looked as though audiences might never make it to the titular dive bar to see Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) clean up trouble with his mean right hook. But all the chaos surrounding its production only increased the audience’s excitement for the film’s world premiere, held March 8 at Austin’s SXSW Film Festival. The chatter among viewers was loud and excitable, and for good reason: Road House is a rollicking rage fest. Liman was correct to be so haughty—this bloody action flick really might be his best movie yet.

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