Jake Gyllenhaal refuses to be pigeonholed. Building on a filmography that includes an Oscar-nominated role as cowboy Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, a smarmy sociopathic role in Nightcrawler and the villain Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Gyllenhaal takes on a remake of Tackle 1989's Road House – yes, Patrick Swayze's endearingly cheesy action film about a seedy small-town Missouri bar saved by a philosophical bouncer.
Sorry, a philosophical chiller. Road House wants to make it clear that he's a cool guy.
On Thursday, Amazon released the first full trailer for Gyllenhaal's new action film. Road House reimagines the plot of the Swayze original: Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) “takes a job as a bouncer at a truck stop in the Florida Keys, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.” it in the film's official description.
The Dalton of the new Road House is less “philosophy major turned bouncer with a Zen feel and a trio of famous rules.” (Those rules are: “Expect the unexpected,” “Go outside,” “Be nice.”) In the remake, he is a down-on-his-luck former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer to stay afloat . Gyllenhaal was physically convincing for the role and was easily strong enough to rip out a man's throat with one hand – something rumored to have happened in Patrick Swayze's original version of the character.
The 2024 “Road House” was directed by Doug Liman (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “The Bourne Identity”), based on a story by Anthony Bagarozzi (“The Nice Guys”), Charles Mondry and David Lee Henry (the original “Road House”). In addition to Gyllenhaal, actors Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, BK Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet and Dominique Columbus also star.
Road House is leaving theaters and going straight to streaming on Prime Video, much to the dismay of its director. On Wednesday, Liman wrote an op-ed at Deadline criticizing Amazon for its plan to release Road House on streaming for the first time, saying:
Amazon has no interest in supporting movie theaters. Amazon will stream Road House exclusively on Amazon Prime. Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements supporting movie theaters, and then they turned around and used Road House to sell plumbing fixtures.
This hurts the filmmakers and stars of “Road House,” who don’t share in the benefits of a hit film on a streaming platform. And they deprive Jake Gyllenhaal – who is giving the best performance of his career – of the opportunity to be recognized come awards season. But the impact goes far beyond this one film. This could shape the industry for decades to come.
The new Road House hits Prime Video on March 21st.