Director Doug Liman complained that this film wasn't getting a wide theatrical release. Apparently, it played for free in cinemas controlled by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, but Amazon decided to buy MGM, this film's distributor, and put the film onto its Prime Video streaming app. Perhaps, this means the film could compete at the upcoming 76th Primetime Emmys in the category of Outstanding Television Movie. If that were the case, it could likely be a winner in that category.
This film is a remake of the 1989 cult classic, produced by Joel Silver who is a producer here, about a bouncer at a nightclub in New York City being hired as the security guard at a bar in Missouri named the Double Deuce that's plagued with rowdy and violent customers. As a result, he comes across a crime lord who goes after local businesses like the Double Deuce in order to intimidate them and maintain his power. This film is essentially the same premise. There are some character dynamics that are different but a lot of it the same.
Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time) stars as Dalton Elwood, a former UFC athlete who is no longer competing professionally. He instead does underground fights for cash under the table, but it's not enough to sustain him. He's homeless, living out of his car. We don't know why he's down on his luck. He's not a drunk or a drug addict. If one knows the 1989 film, it's not too difficult to guess what was the reason for his downfall, particularly because there are frequent flashbacks to his UFC days. His character is basically haunted by a past action.
In the 1989 film, the protagonist, played by Patrick Swayze, is also haunted by a past action, but Swayze's character isn't homeless or necessarily down on his luck. Both films are about what can happen when certain men are pushed to their limits or to a literal beast mode and the difference between those who are looking for trouble and those who aren't. As such, it's somewhat about masculinity. Ironically, the 1989 film had masculinity be more a state of mind, whereas this film has masculinity as more of a measure of physicality. Yes, Swayze was in very good shape and showed if off frequently. Here, Gyllenhaal approaches bodybuilder physique.
Conor McGregor is an Irish athlete who is a former UFC champion in real-life. This film is his feature debut, as an actor. Here, McGregor plays Knox, an enforcer for the crime lord in question. McGregor for sure has a bodybuilder physique, which he absolutely shows off in his first scene, which involves him walking butt naked through the streets of some foreign city. He's a more comical version of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in The Terminator (1984). Yet, he's more of a narcissist and a psychopath. He mostly feels like a villain ripped from a comic book film, like a Batman movie or a DCEU flick.
I'm not sure if this film has literally more action, but this film definitely has more over-the-top action than the 1989 one. There is an over-the-top truck crash. The whole thing even culminates in an over-the-top boat chase, which is rare for films these days. There was a boat chase in the Kevin Hart film Lift (2024), but Liman's boat chase is more frenetic and bombastic. Both Lift and this film involve Billy Magnussen who plays the so-called crime lord here. This film though is lot more fun and funnier than even that Hart flick.
Obviously, this film has been propped up as a martial arts flick, one that will pit Dalton versus Knox, Gyllenhaal versus McGregor. The film delivers on that promise with pretty intense fight sequences that are equally frenetic and bombastic. In the press, there was reporting on how the fight scenes were filmed differently, allowing for more intense and realistic punches and hits. It's effective for the most part.
My only criticism is that the film doesn't do much more with its supporting cast. Arguably, the 1989 version didn't either. Yet, that 1989 version did have Sam Elliott who played a friend to Swayze's character. This film doesn't have an equivalent to prompt a change to the protagonist. It tries to manufacture a friendship between Dalton and a little girl named Charlie, played by Hannah Love Lanier (Special Ops: Lioness), but it's not as fun as the friendship in the 1989 version. In terms of the supporting cast, I wish more were done with JD Pardo (Mayans M.C.) and Beau Knapp (Seven Seconds) who get moments to shine, but not enough. Arturo Castro (Broad City) is probably the only supporting actor who gets truly memorable moments or has an outstanding role beyond the female characters, such as Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) who plays the bar owner here.
Rated R for violence, pervasive language and some nudity.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 3 mins.
Available on Amazon Prime.
