When I saw Jake Gyllenhaal cast as the lead, I was a little shocked they would choose a generally dramatic actor for the role. But, I was totally wrong, looking at his IMDB page, it is littered with action movies, however he is best known for drama. This shows that he is a very good actor, that can do action. He is one of those actors that is always good, even in bad movies. And, if you are going to enjoy this movie, Jake Gyllenhaal - not McGregor - is going to be the reason why.
Roadhouse follows Dalton (Gyllenhaal) as an ex UFC fighter who is told to take back a local Roadhouse from a local gang. Why a Roadhouse? So they can get the clout from the fame of the Swayze move from the 80s of course. There is no real connection other than the name, so purists be ware (on a side note, I loved the 89 Roadhouse! It was a good blend of action, drama, love and fun).
What works is Jake Gyllenhaal. He is fun, refreshing and likeable as always. The action I also found strong. It is a breath of air from the John Wick style, over stylized, super ninja action that litters our streaming services today. The tone is generally fun and light, and I'm glad the actors and director take this path.
So, let's talk about the elephant in the room... McGregor. So, the studio/director does the right thing here. They insulate him, surrounded by a good cast and a fun story. All he needs to do is just nail the role - and he falls flat. There isn't much for McGregor to do, and the inexperience is obvious. As a UFC fan, it is obvious most of his shtick is an act, so just repeating that would be fine. This is not all on McGregor, but he should blow this role away, and he doesn't. He isn't bad, just he isn't good either.
The movie does get lazy near the end, and although the final showdown is a good set action piece, it is obvious at this point the director just wants to wrap things up.
I really enjoyed the film, but it is almost all because Jake Gyllenhaal had such fun in the role that I was pulled along with him.
7/10.
Roadhouse follows Dalton (Gyllenhaal) as an ex UFC fighter who is told to take back a local Roadhouse from a local gang. Why a Roadhouse? So they can get the clout from the fame of the Swayze move from the 80s of course. There is no real connection other than the name, so purists be ware (on a side note, I loved the 89 Roadhouse! It was a good blend of action, drama, love and fun).
What works is Jake Gyllenhaal. He is fun, refreshing and likeable as always. The action I also found strong. It is a breath of air from the John Wick style, over stylized, super ninja action that litters our streaming services today. The tone is generally fun and light, and I'm glad the actors and director take this path.
So, let's talk about the elephant in the room... McGregor. So, the studio/director does the right thing here. They insulate him, surrounded by a good cast and a fun story. All he needs to do is just nail the role - and he falls flat. There isn't much for McGregor to do, and the inexperience is obvious. As a UFC fan, it is obvious most of his shtick is an act, so just repeating that would be fine. This is not all on McGregor, but he should blow this role away, and he doesn't. He isn't bad, just he isn't good either.
The movie does get lazy near the end, and although the final showdown is a good set action piece, it is obvious at this point the director just wants to wrap things up.
I really enjoyed the film, but it is almost all because Jake Gyllenhaal had such fun in the role that I was pulled along with him.
7/10.
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