Culture news After Reacher, Amazon is offering us an action film with Jake Gyllenhaal: the slap in the face is going to be violent!
Scheduled for release next March, this remake of an ’80s film sees Jake Gyllenhaal transformed into a former MMA fighter turned bar bouncer ready to bust some mouths in Florida.
The remake of a cult film
Amazon is preparing great things for Prime Video subscribers. On March 21, it will be time to discover Road House, the remake of the eponymous film released at the end of the 80s, then starring Patrick Swayze. This time, it’s Jake Gyllenhaal who stars in this project which presents itself as pure, uninhibited entertainment.
In this remake, the protagonist Elwood Dalton becomes a former MMA star who returns to service as a bar bouncer in Florida in order to help a manager clean up the customers. An excellent excuse to offer spectators a good dose of street fighting in an idyllic setting. A frankly promising mix, unfortunately tarnished by controversies.
Amazon vs cinema
With Jake Gyllenhaal at the top of the bill and Doug Liman (La Mémoire dans la Peau, Edge of Tomorrow, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) directing, Road House had everything it took to offer us an excellent moment to share in cinemas. Unfortunately, the film will be released directly on Prime Video. A situation which greatly displeases its director, who blamed Amazon.
According to Doug Liman, Amazon fully supported the film crew and actually planned a theatrical release, before backtracking, firing producer Joel Silver and asking to use artificial intelligence software to complete the feature film. From then on, the filmmaker refused to promote his film, particularly during the SXSW festival. What’s more, while Road House is released directly on Prime Video, Jake Gyllenhaal finds himself deprived of an Oscar nomination, as Doug Liman recalled to Deadline. “It’s a key role in his career, he was born to play this character. But once again, my fear goes beyond my own film. This kind of decision could represent what the industry will become in the decades to come ” declared the filmmaker. The actor did not react to his director’s comments.