Amazon Prime Video is this week releasing its remake of Roadhouse the cult Patrick Swayze movie. The new version stars Jake Gyllenhal and has in fact reviewed better than the original.
Leg warmers, perms, shoulder pads - there are some things that are better left in the 80s. The decade also however was known for some of the biggest action movies ever made. Now, one of them has been brought up to date, and has in fact surpassed the original.
Amazon Prime Video will release Roadhouse on March 21st. This streaming service exclusive is a re-imagining of the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie of the same name, which has garnered a cult following.
Cult is probably the keyword, however, because the original wasn't exactly a hit with critics. It harbours a meagre 41% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes which is nothing to shout about. The new version, helmed by Jake Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman, boasts a more respectable 67% (at the time of writing). Not quite a knockout blow, but a good start for the modern remake. Of course, given its streaming-only release, there is no box office comparison to make, but it will no doubt go shooting right up the Prime Video charts.
So aside from the fashion, what's different this time around? Well for a start the titular 'roadhouse' is now no longer a Missouri dive but a bar in the Florida Keys, don't worry though - it still has plenty of rough clientele who need teaching a lesson.
That's where Gyllenhaal's Elwood Dalton (Dalton was Swayze's first name in the original) comes in. A former UFC fighter now picking fights to get by, he's tasked with cleaning up some of the grimy regulars as the new bouncer. It even features Conor McGregor's acting debut (he is a baddie of course).
In all honesty, do I expect this movie to be the absolute peak of cinema in 2024? Absolutely not, but it looks like it knows what it is and is up for a good time. What more can you ask for from the sequel to a film where Patrick Swayze rips someone's throat out?
