Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Road House” is currently the number one film on Prime Video worldwide, despite having only premiering three days ago (March 21). The movie, directed by Doug Liman, is a remake of the 1989 film of the same name, which starred Patrick Swayze.
In “Road House,” Gyllenhaal portrays an ex-UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that there is more to this paradise that it seems at first. The film has received mixed to positive reviews, especially Gyllenhaal’s commitment to the role.
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In that sense, Gyllenhaal’s physicality as the middleweight fighter is impressive. “You just try to function like an athlete in that space, because there’s an aesthetic need for the camera in a lot of ways, but there’s also a real function to it,” he told Associated Press. However, this is not the first time that the actor has played a boxer on screen, as he did it first in Antoine Fuqua’s “Southpaw,” which you can watch on Netflix.
‘Southpaw,’ with Jake Gyllenhaal to watch on Netflix
In “Southpaw” (2015), Gyllenghaal portrayed a boxer who sets out to get his life back on track after his wife is killed by a gunshot, and later protective services take his young daughter. The movie also stars Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence and Forest Whitaker.
While the movie received mixed reviews for its melodramatic tones, Gyllenhaal’s performance was praised. The film was also a great success, grossing $95 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million.
When it comes to the boxing scenes, Fuqua said that he tried to do something different. “This one, you’re watching people getting punched in the face. The camera’s not cutting all the time,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly at the time.
He also praised Gyllenhaal for his commitment while shooting those scenes. He said that he told the actor that “‘If you got a black eye, you got a black eye.’ And that’s what we did. That’s why I love Jake. He gave me his heart. He trusted me, and I trusted him.”
Southpaw is also available to stream on Fubo, Showtime, and Paramount+.
