Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Road House Blu-ray Movie Review

"I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice."

Reviewed by Dustin Somner June 19, 2009

I find it somewhat ironic that Road House was directed by a man named Rowdy Harrington. If I had to pick one word to describe the film, Rowdy would probably fit the bill nicely. I’m not sure what it was about the 1980’s, but I’d say that was the decade of the “guy movie”, with countless action films specifically released for the adrenaline-junkies in all of us. From Steven Seagal to Chuck Norris, or Arnold Swarzeneggar to Sylvester Stallone, the 80’s invited the meteoric rise of the mindless action hero and we soaked up every blood-drenched minute of it.

Road House offered Patrick Swayze an opportunity to hang up his dancing shoes after the completion of Dirty Dancing (I’m sorry for even mentioning that film in a review of Road House) and return to his trademark role as a tough guy. In many ways, Road House played to Swayze’s strengths, with fight scenes that require more brawling and less martial arts. Watching the film, it’s abundantly clear he couldn’t hold his own next to the great Chuck Norris, but when it comes to throwing punches or slamming people through tables, Swayze is clearly the man for the job. Going into this viewing, I was primarily curious how the film would hold up after all these years, since I’ve seen a number of films in recent years that I loved two decades ago, but have lost their luster as I grow older. Fortunately, my worries soon abated as I found myself caught up in the campy entertainment before my eyes. Road House may not be a timeless classic, but it will retain enough charm to maintain a strong cult status for years to come.

The thankless job of a bouncer...

James Dalton (Patrick Swayze) makes his living as a lead bouncer who offers his services to the highest bidder. His ability to turn a watering hole for less-than-savory characters into a magnetic atmosphere for everyone, has earned him national recognition among the bar-owning elite. One day, he’s approached by the owner of an establishment known as the Double Deuce, who hopes Dalton can clear out the bad element and turn his bar into a successful nightclub. Upon his arrival at the Double Deuce, Dalton witnesses drug use, theft, borderline prostitution, and rampant violence plaguing the club. Given full power over the staff, he demonstrates an uncanny ability to expose staff indiscretions and an interesting philosophy on the treatment of rowdy patrons. Before long, the Double Deuce becomes a profitable club with infrequent disturbances and an entirely new atmosphere as a result of Dalton’s finesse as a “cooler” (presumably meaning he cools off heated situations). Unfortunately, Dalton’s proficiency as a bouncer and his newfound relationship with a gorgeous doctor (Kelly Lynch) result in unwanted attention from the town bully (Ben Gazzara), a millionaire playboy with aspirations to bleed the town dry. Will Dalton extend the work he started at the Double Deuce and clean up the town, or will something haunting him from his troubled past drive him away from the people that need him the most?

Road House isn’t creative, profound, or overly memorable when stacked up with better action films released over the past twenty years. But what it lacks in originally, is made up for in pure entertainment value. Combining raucous bar fights, seething villains, an exploding car, easily-quotable one-liners, and sufficient T&A, Road House isn’t just a guy movie, its THE guy movie. If you’ve only ever seen the film on late-night cable, you haven’t really experienced the entire package. There’s not much worse than watching a film that’s been cut and spliced, or horrendously re-dubbed to remove swearing, and that’s precisely what you’ll get if you’re not watching the film in its original glory.

As I mentioned earlier, I was a little worried how the film would hold up to the test of time, and though I can’t say it tops my list of 80’s action films, it still possesses enough charm to earn a place next to the cheesiest classics. As much as I enjoy the film, I can fully understand opinions that fall on the flipside of the coin. Swayze’s lack of martial arts skills are laughable; the dialogue sounds like it was taken straight from an episode of the “A-Team”; and the over-the-top brutality of the last 25 minutes seems severely out-of-place compared to the rest of the feature. I began to wonder if everyone in 1989 wore knives on their belt and practiced the art of telegraphing the swings and lunges of a knife fight. There’s even one ridiculous fellow that has a knife installed on the toe of his boot, which seems to demonstrate a lack of intelligence rather than toughness. What I’m ultimately getting at, is there’s a certain requirement going into the film that demands you leave your common sense at the door and delight in the lack of realism. Road House is the McDonalds of action films—it may taste good, but offers absolutely zero nutritional value.

Road House Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the MPEG-2 codec (at an average bitrate of 18Mbps), Road House doesn't offer the revelatory visual experience I was hoping for. Considering the film is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, I wasn't anticipating a knockout transfer, but I did expect a higher level of consistency throughout the production. Detail wavers the most, with some shots looking spectacular and others appearing hazy or soft. The highly detailed scenes make the ugly ones stand out in comparison, creating a certain level of distraction from the film itself. I recently reviewed another MPEG-2 transfer from MGM (Out of Time), which displayed the same inconsistency in the rendering of detail, which raises questions regarding deficiencies in the transfer versus the source material. I still have a couple more MPEG-2 titles from MGM to review in the next few days, so keep your eyes open for those reviews to see if the trend continues. From a color standpoint, I found the hues a little on the dull side, with a heavy push toward browns and yellows. The only real break from the lack of vivid colors, comes during the interior bar scenes, where the the crimson shirts worn by the bar staff offer a nice level of pop. Black levels aren't as deep as we've seen in reference transfers, but still offer sufficient depth to allow contrast levels to shine. The print itself is starting to show a little wear, with the occasional dust speck or scratch showing through, but on the whole the transfer looks cleaner than I expected. Unfortunately, I was left with a general feeling that DNR was applied throughout the film. Grain less visible than I was expecting, and fine textures on clothing or faces show a trademark lack of visual clarity. Additionally, I noticed two scenes where a small degree of edge-enhancement was applied, with light halos appearing around character outlines. It won't be distracting or noticeable to most viewers, but those who are particularly sensitive to these issues should be forewarned.

Road House Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The primary audio offering on the disc is an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, that offers a substantial improvement over any prior release of the film. Above all, I was impressed with the dynamic use of surrounds to create spatial separation in the effects. You still can't improve the cheesy sound of the effects themselves (like turning hamburger into steak), but it's still nice to experience 80's action with a modern upgrade. Some of the highlights in the audio track include bar-clearing brawls, a car exploding in mid-air, and the explosion of the auto parts store. Speaking of explosions, the LFE channel contains adequate material to give your subwoofer an occasional workout, but it still doesn't demonstrate the bombastic response we've grown accustomed to in recent action masterpieces. If I had to pinpoint one deficiency in the overall track, it would be the slightly muffled dialogue. Compared to the clarity of the effects and music, the dialogue had a dated sound that appeared to reflect a lack of ideal recording conditions in the original track. It certainly won't ruin the experience, but audio purists might be a little disappointed in that aspect of the track. Overall, Road House offers an impressive step up in quality through the transition to a lossless surround track, but you should still downgrade your expectations to meet the limitations of the dated sound.

Road House Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Road House is one of several recent Blu-ray releases from MGM that contain a copy of the DVD release in addition to the Blu-ray. This appears to be a strategic move to provide special features without actually adding them to the Blu-ray disc itself. In general, I wouldn't consider this practice ideal (especially for anyone with an interest in director's commentaries) but it may partially account for the reasonable retail price of this Blu-ray release.

Having said that, I'm reviewing a single-disc rental copy of the Road House Blu-ray, so I'm not able to comment on the DVD special features included within the retail package. The only special feature included on the Blu-ray disc is a collection of four high-definition trailers (Road House, Red Dawn, Ronin and Hoosiers).

Road House Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Road House deserves more credit than it has received over the years. Taken as a whole, it's a thoroughly entertaining experience that allows the viewer to escape into a simpler time when a good action film contained clearly defined heroes or villains, and didn't require the constant use of choppy editing or wires to create a good fight. I wish the technical presentation had done the film justice, since it would be easier to offer a wholehearted recommendation of the entire package. As it stands, I'd recommend a purchase to anyone that loves the film, but only recommend a rental to the uninitiated.