In short, theRoad Houseremake is trash.
But it is wonderful trash, full of cheeseball crowd-pleasing, gnarly action, and some genuine humor.
Road House had me cheering and pumping my fist in the air.
A few people got to see it in a theater whenRoad Housepremiered at South by Southwest.
But directorDoug Liman(The Bourne Identity,Edge of Tomorrow) is not one of them.
The facts, Liman wrote in an op-ed forDeadline.
I signed up to make a theatrical motion picture for MGM.
Amazon said make a great film and we will see what happens.
I made a great film.
Limans star Gyllenhaal calls his claims into question, tellingTotal Filmthat Amazon was always clear that it was streaming.
The facts of these contract negations dont matter for most movie fans.
What matters is how we watch movies.
Its easy to see why streamers like Amazon or Netflix want to keep their movies out of theaters.
But its more important to see why movie fans want to preserve the theatrical experience.
AndRoad Houseis absolutely one of them.
However, Liman updates the story with modern aesthetics, both in terms of filmmaking and production design.
And rest assured,Road Housegets very outrageous.
He talks his victims through their pain, encouraging and reassuring them even as he beats them down.
But Gyllenhaal delivers the lines with an earnestness that doesnt play as sarcasm, earning genuine laughs.
DoesRoad Househave the beauty or brutality of the best action films?
Its not even better than the 1989 version.
In part, this preference is nothing new.
However, the ubiquity of screens and entertainment options dilutes even the experience of watching at home.
Gone is the movie night, replaced by streaming a movie in the background while you fold your socks.
Look, no ones saying that going to the theater is akin to going to a cathedral these days.
Regal and AMC dont make classical movie houses.
But the cheap thrills offered by 2024sRoad Housework perfectly in that setting.
The movie works better when people yell at the screen and spill pop corn on the floor.
Road House is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
