Road House is far from a faithful remake of 1989's action movie of the same name, as evidenced by two major changes in the story.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the movie follows Elwood Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter who decides to take on a job as a bouncer in a beachside road house in Florida Keys. The owner, Frankie (Jessica Williams), needs help saving the place from troublesome customers and local thugs, who are being controlled by a powerful local businessman with ambitious plans for the area.
The differences with the original Road House, starring Patrick Swayze, are multiple and evident from the start — Dalton wasn't a professional fighter in the first movie, which was set in a bar in Missouri owned by not Frankie but Frank (played by Kevin Tighe).
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The biggest change, though, is in the ending.
Major spoilers ahead.
Road House ending makes a big change for Dalton
When the bad guys destroy the local bookshop, sending owner Stephen (Kevin Carroll) and his teenage daughter Charlie (Hannah Love Lanier) to the hospital, Dalton decides it's time to stop them for good.
He steals some money, sinks a yacht and leads the boss' son Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) into a boat chase that ends with him crashing into the road house.
There, Dalton does what he does best, delivering brutal punches to both Brandt and unhinged thug Knox (played by professional fighter Conor McGregor in his movie debut). The first one is easy enough, but Knox proves a more difficult adversary.
Dalton ends up stabbing him multiple times with a wooden stick. The sheriff shows up and tells him to leave. He says he'll cover up for him.
In the original movie, a group of men from town (whose businesses and lives have been ruined by the greedy businessman Brad Wesley) show up at the villain's house while Dalton is fighting him and they finish him off. They swear to silence afterwards, also protecting Dalton from any repercussions from his killing spree.
It's after this that the two movies differ.
In the original Road House, Swayze's Dalton settles down in town, as the Double Deuce road house is now saved. He also continues his relationship with doctor Elizabeth Clay (played by Kelly Lynch), as we see them swimming naked in a nearby lake in the last scene of the film.
In the new Road House, however, Gyllenhaal's Dalton takes a totally different decision by the end. After the Road House is saved, he boards a bus out of Florida Keys, leaving his new friends and his love interest Ellie (Daniela Melchior) behind.
Additionally, there is a mid-credits scene that reveals Knox is not dead, which could potentially be leaving the door open for a sequel.
Why was Wade Garrett removed from the Road House remake?
Another major change from the Road House remake is the absence of Wade Garrett, Dalton's friend and mentor who was played by Sam Elliott in the original movie.
We do hear about him – when Frankie offers Dalton a job at her road house, he tells her to call Garrett because "he's the best." That's also what Swayze's Dalton tells Frank in the first movie.
However, the remake doesn't introduce the character later in the story.
In 1989's Road House, Garrett shows up in Missouri to help out his friend. He taught Dalton everything he knows and helped him become a notorious bouncer and fighter. Together, they face Brad Wesley's thugs in order to protect the road house and the villagers.
When violence spins out of control, Wade Garrett gets murdered. That tragic loss pushes Dalton to the limit in the violent climax of the movie.
It's surprising to see Garrett has been (almost) completely removed from the Road House remake, since he was a big emotional root for the main character. In the new story, the bookshop owner and his daughter seem to replace him, but it doesn't feel as impactful.
It doesn't look like Sam Elliott was ever considered to reprise his role or to participate in the new movie in any way.
Back in December 2021, the actor was asked about the remake (which was in development at that time) in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I hadn't heard about this most recent one. A couple of years ago they were going to remake the film with Ronda Rousey in the Patrick [Swayze] part. I think remaking stuff is always a gamble, I'll put it that way," he said.
"I don't think it was a great film, but it struck a chord with a lot of people. I know it was a lot of fun doing it. But I think on some levels it was some mindless male fantasy film."
Road House is now available to watch on Prime Video.
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Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
