When the name of actor Patrick Swayze is mentioned, the first films mentioned are generally Dirty Dancing (Lascivious dance), Ghost (My ghost of love) And Point Break (Extreme limit). Much more rough-hewn, Road House (Roadside bar) is nonetheless one of the late star’s most beloved titles. However, this outrageous story of an almost invincible bouncer hired to rid an alcohol establishment of the mobsters who proliferate there was not an obvious candidate for reinvention. However, what is even more surprising is that the remake (VF) with a Jake Gyllenhaal all gleaming muscles and a cute smile is so entertaining.
We are talking here about a free adaptation. Formerly camped on the borders of Missouri, the plot has been transposed to the magnificent Florida Keys. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dalton, a former extreme fighting champion haunted by his (what else) past.
With nowhere else to go, Dalton accepts a job offer from a bar owner. His mandate: to expel the scum who have been plaguing there for months. There’s a dark story of real estate development underneath (what else, bis).
Given a role with a psychological profile that we would charitably describe as minimal, the star of Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain (Memories of Brokeback Mountain) And Prisoners (Prisoners) deploys all his arsenal of charisma and charm. Result ? His Dalton is quite irresistible. It is true that the screenplay by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry gives Gyllenhaal several amusing lines to sink his teeth into.
However, it is rather with his fists that Dalton expresses himself, breaking from the bad guy to the next. Good guy, he nevertheless happens to drop off some of his attackers at the hospital.
From the lot of antagonists stands out the one made up of the real extreme fighting champion Conor McGregor, disjointed as desired: a credible opponent for Dalton.
As a doctor who is interested in Dalton for reasons other than his (superficial) injuries, Daniela Melchior is also impressive.
Absolute second degree
Let the purists who are fans of the original cult film (because it is one, certified) rest assured: Road Houseversion 2024, has absolutely not renounced the debauchery of deliberately excessive violence of its model.
On the contrary, Doug Liman, expert director of action films after The Bourne Identity (The memory in the skin), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Mr and Mme Smith) And Edge of Tomorrow (A day without tomorrow), chose to amplify it by making it even more visceral. This, with a stylization and a visual panache, as well as a constant humor, which make the absolute second degree of the affair crystal clear.
In short, it is a B series in its Sunday best, with a story as thin as it is full of archetypes and clichés, but which is entirely aware of being so, and seems determined to have fun with it.
In this regard, the friendly “meta” conversations between Dalton and a young local bookseller, where the latter compares him to a solitary western cowboy arriving in a sinking hamlet in order to clean it up, are revealing. In short, this remake turns out, who would have thought, more competent and exciting than expected.