It was eagerly awaited: the remake of Road House, just released on Amazon Prime, promised great entertainment, set against a backdrop of savage combat. Reuniting a pumped-up Jake Gyllenhaal, the protagonist had to face off against a super villain, played by Irishman Conor McGregor, who took the opportunity to make his film debut. But what about his performance? Has the “made in Ireland” MMA champion managed to convince people that he’s a good actor? We give you our opinion.
We’re not going to lie to you. The pitch for the film “Road House” fits on a post-it note… and there’s nothing to expect from the show other than a good time of entertainment, between punchlines and fight sequences galore.
The film tells the story of Dalton, a former MMA fighter who once fought in the UFC. The latter struggles to detach himself from his dark past and violent tendencies. But Frankie, the owner of a roadside bar, notices him and decides to hire him as a bouncer, hoping he can protect her establishment from a brutal gang acting under the orders of the criminal Brandt. However, the situation escalates dangerously with the arrival of Knox, a ruthless hitman…
You guessed it: Dalton (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is going to be alone against all odds, and has to save the establishment from a gang of big bad guys. His weapon: his fists, his speed and his tactical finesse! Because Dalton is always amazingly precise when it comes to striking: far from being a clumsy oaf, his strikes are strategic, surgical and extremely violent. For the occasion, Jake Gyllenhaal worked on his body, to present a hyper-defined chest and arms, with protruding muscles and visible abs. It’s enough to make him look like a real UFC fighter!
Conor McGgregor in Road House
Sequence follows sequence, until the arrival of Knox, played by Conor McGregor. In fact, his first scene is memorable: we discover him completely naked, throwing himself nonchalantly out of a window, after being caught having sex with a married woman.
Massive, tattooed, bulging pecs and biceps… With pristine white teeth and a goofy grin on his lips, Conor McGregor is the quintessential villain, as scary as he is funny. He maintains this offbeat approach throughout the film, delivering brutal blows with a sense of punchline and cheeky smile.
An amusing character, but one who always verges on caricature (if only in the way he walks, rolling his gears and flirting with the ridiculous).
So what can we say about this performance?
Conor McGregor is an interesting villain, perfectly suited to his role, if only for his impressive musculature and his ambivalence for violence and humor. Constantly on the verge of madness, his character’s psychology doesn’t fly high, but is in line with the typology of the Road House film.
All in all, the Irish actor delivers a rather masterful performance. Far from an Oscar winner, his performance is more than adequate for a film debut.
However, we can’t help seeing it as an easy role, as Conor McGregor is expected to play a champion brawler, amusing and outrageous to the max… A role he actually plays in real life! Conor McGregor has always been a controversial character in real life. His role in Road House, though more caricatured, is not so far removed from the everyday life of the MMA fighter.
That’s why his role in Road House suits him so well… It’s almost as if Conor McGregor has mixed his everyday personality with his role in the film!
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