Road House (1989)

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (19) | DVD (18)

Eventually it mutates into a paranoid revenge plot that might be called Walking Short.

April 30, 2012 Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Its vigilante justice, lawlessness and wanton violence feel ludicrous in a modern setting.

January 8, 2008 Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

Mindless entertainment of the highest order.

June 24, 2006 Full Review

Time Out

Top Critic

Road House is much funnier than most comedies, until it turns vile instead of just stupid.

May 20, 2003 Full Review

Caryn James

New York Times

Top Critic

The grotesque soon drowns out the giggles.

May 12, 2001

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

Road House lays out its story with the subtlety of a wrestling match, and probably with less sharpness or savvy.

January 1, 2000 Full Review

Hal Hinson

Washington Post

Top Critic

An immensely enjoyable slice of romanticised fisticuffs, this is a Western in every respect except the stetsons and six guns.

April 15, 2008 Full Review

Tom Tunney

Empire Magazine

Good-natured enough, but essentially an excuse for lots of mindless violence perpetrated by one-dimensional characters.

April 15, 2008 Full Review

Film4

Swayze kicks some serious ass

March 23, 2008

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

sbs.is

Swayze is up to a part that requires him merely to show his muscles and dexterity, but Gazzara is trapped in his hopelessly evil caricature, leaving Sam Elliott (in a too-limited role) to provide the film's only real charm.

January 8, 2008 Full Review

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Badass brawls, broken beer bottles, booming beats, big boobs and bad blood.

July 27, 2006 Full Review

Kevin N. Laforest

Montreal Film Journal

Road House is the mother of all stop signs for channel surfers everywhere.

July 22, 2006 Full Review

David Medsker

Bullz-Eye.com

As trite and clichéd as the screenplay is, two additional commentary options are so clever that it's like going to watch a really bad movie with awfully funny people--the kind who make side comments the whole time.

July 19, 2006

James Plath

Reel.com

'Road House' is a terrible movie, and by 'terrible' I mean 'awesome.'

July 14, 2006 Full Review

Phil Villarreal

Arizona Daily Star

...it's hard to go wrong with a film that features such choice bits of dialogue as "nobody ever wins a fight," "be nice until it's time to not be nice," and, of course, "pain don't hurt."

July 11, 2006 Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

the gayest thing next to a gladiator movie

May 31, 2006 Full Review | Comments (2)

Pete Croatto

Filmcritic.com

Very cool, Very fast, and more action than the L.A Freeway. Perfect Popcorn Entertainment.

May 15, 2006 Full Review

Clint Morris

Moviehole

I hated this movie as a teen. Haven't seen it since.

July 25, 2005 | Comments (3)

Alex Sandell

Juicy Cerebellum

• 1. Dr. Elizabeth "Doc" Clay: You know, for that line of work I thought you'd be bigger.
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)
• 1. Morgan: You know, I heard you had balls big enough to come in a dump truck, but you don't look like much to me.
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)
• 1. Wade Garrett: You got a skinny little runt named Dalton working here?
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)
• 1. Wade Garrett: A man puts a gun in yer face, you got two choices - stand there 'n die or kill the motherfucker!
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)
• 1. Tilghman: It's a good night. Nobody died.
  2. Dalton: It'll get worse before it gets better.
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)
• 1. Dalton: You're too stupid to have a good time.
  – Submitted by Kelly E (3 months ago)

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