Jake Gyllenhaal Is Going Over the Top in ‘Road House’
Let’s get ready to rumble! Amazon’s highly anticipated reboot of the beloved so-bad-it’s-good 1989 action film Road House arrives this spring. And based on the trailer, it looks like Doug Liman did right by his predecessor with an over-the-top action flick.
Amazon released the first trailer for Road House, from director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow)—who recently revealed that he’s boycotting the SXSW premiere of the film following Amazon’s refusal to release Road House in theaters. Watching this trailer, I think he’s making the right call because this thing deserves to be seen with a CROWD:
Gyllenhaal is slapping a man in his head with an open hand! He’s teaching Lukas Gage how to throw punches! Men are flying across bars! Plot-wise, Road House centers on Dalton (Gyllenhaal), a UFC fighter who takes a gig as a bouncer at a bar in Florida—just dirtbag vibes all around. While Dalton is helping the bar owner (Jessica Williams) keep the riff-raff in order, a wealthy billionaire is plotting to turn the area into a luxury development and he enlists his own muscle to intimidate the bar folk. That muscle is actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who appears to be putting the absolute most ham into this performance. It is NUTS.
Amazon MGM Studios also dropped a poster for Road House, featuring Gyllenhaal as Dalton, silk shirt open and torso on full display:
Last spring, we got a little taste of Gyllenhaal’s UFC persona when this video from the set began circulating online:
In addition to Gyllenhaal and McGregor, the film co-stars Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad), Billy Magnussen (No Time to Die), Gbemisola Ikumelo (A League of Their Own), Lukas Gage (The White Lotus), Hannah Love Lanier (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Travis Van Winkle (You), B.K. Cannon (Why Women Kill), Arturo Castro (Broad City), Dominique Columbus (Ray Donovan), Beau Knapp (Seven Seconds), Bob Menery (Billions), Jessica Williams, and Joaquim De Almeida.
The remake of the cult hit is set to hit the Prime Video streaming service on March 21, 2024. It comes 35 years after the original film hit theaters and 18 years after the ill-fated direct-to-DVD sequel Road House 2.
Recently, we learned that Liman and Gyllenhaal were reportedly “pissed” over the streamer’s refusal to release the film in theaters. Per Puck News, the two are said to have gone to great lengths to change this, even screening Road House personally for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on his yacht.
(featured image: Prime Video)
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