Doug Liman’s next film as a director ‘Road House’ features Jake Gyllenhaal and it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated movies coming out this year in Hollywood. The film is a remake of the 1989 action film of the same name, which originally starred Patrick Swayze in the lead role.
The ‘Road House’ remake is set to directly premiere on the Amazon Prime Video OTT platform on 21st March 2024 instead of a theatrical release. And that’s the reason the film’s director Doug Liman is not happy about it. In fact, he is disappointed to such an extent that he has planned to boycott the film’s premiere at the SXSW festival.
Interestingly, when Doug Liman came on board to direct the ‘Road House’ remake for MGM, it was expected to get a theatrical release. Later, when Amazon acquired MGM, it was assured that Amazon was going to spend $1 billion for theatrical film releases. But the decision of releasing ‘Road House’ directly on its streaming service is baffling.
Because a film like ‘Road House’ deserves a theatrical release, or at least, a day-and-date release. Doug Liman is an acclaimed filmmaker who had previously helmed some fine films such as Matt Damon’s ‘The Bourne Identity’, the time-loop sci-fi actioner ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and the crime drama film ‘American Made’, also starring Tom Cruise.
Imagine a film like ‘Bourne Identity’ or ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ skipping theatrical release and premiering directly on an OTT platform? It will be a big loss for cinephiles and movie-going audiences who love the big screen experience.
Same is the case with a film like ‘Road House’ who has an Academy Award-nominated A-list star like Jake Gyllenhaal. Especially after Doug Liman has himself said these things. From whatever we have heard about the ‘Road House’ remake, it’s a potentially surefire hit.
An entertainment company like Amazon should be very careful while deciding which films should be released directly on their OTT platforms and which movies deserve a theatrical release first, or a day-and-date release. Otherwise, in the longer run, the movie theatre business could also suffer, and it would deteriorate the overall movie watching experience.
So, is releasing ‘Road House’ directly on Prime Video a wrong decision by Amazon? From a business perspective and for the sake of their OTT platform Prime Video, they might have taken the right decision but from a creative point of view, it’s a loss for all the film-lovers out there and for the creative team behind ‘Road House’.
For the unversed, the original ‘Road House’ action film revolved around a martial arts expert and a professional bouncer (played by Patrick Swayze) who takes up a job at a small-town roadside bar called The Double Deuce. During his new assignment, the cooler crosses paths with a corrupt business magnate who controls the town.