Summary

• Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton is a former UFC fighter, while Swayze's is a seasoned cooler who has reached the status of an urban legend.
• The remake explores Dalton's darker side, whereas the original doesn't go into much depth about Dalton's guilt-riddled past.
• Gyllenhaal's Dalton has a broader comedic style, but Swayze also gets some funny one-liners.

In Amazon Prime Video's remake of Road House, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a character made famous by Patrick Swayze, but these two versions of Dalton have some important differences. Each Dalton is subtly crafted to fit the needs of their story. They are both coolers with an otherworldly talent for knocking yokels unconscious, and they are both haunted by traumatic events from their violent pasts. However, their similarities are only skin deep, as each version of Dalton has their own motivations, their own backstories, and their own personality traits.

There are a few obvious differences between the two. For instance, the original Dalton's first name was James, but the remake calls him Elwood. Also, the remake's Dalton has a more muscular physique and several tattoos. The remake of Road House pays tribute to Patrick Swayze, but it also takes his character in new directions to keep things fresh. Despite a heavy focus on fight scenes and dry wit, Road House wouldn't be such a beloved cult classic without a compelling protagonist, and the remake attempts to do justice by this idea while standing on its own two feet.

Both the original and the remake of Road House are available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

6 Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton Was A UFC Fighter

It's unknown what Patrick Swayze's Dalton did before he became a cooler

Before accepting Frankie's job offer and moving to Glass Key, Elwood Dalton was a famous UFC fighter. People still recognize him everywhere he goes, as shown by Road House's opening scene with Post Malone. Unfortunately, Dalton kills his opponent in the octagon. This causes him to retire from MMA fighting, and he's making money by scaring his opponents out of underground bareknuckle boxing fights when Frankie finds him. He's a legendary fighter, just like Patrick Swayze in the original Road House, but their stories couldn't be more different.

In the original Road House, Dalton is a cooler at a bar in New York when he is approached by Frank with a job offer from Missouri. The fact that Frank would travel so far just to find Dalton shows how legendary his skills for taking out the trash are. Dalton is also famous in the original, but he's only famous for the reason that he once killed a man in a fight. He acts as a sort of nomadic mercenary, using his fists and roundhouse kicks as tools to bring justice to those who need it all across the country. The remake may allude to classic Westerns more overtly, but the original Dalton is the true traveling gunslinger.

Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton is haunted by a traumatic event that occurred in front of the whole world. His UFC past means that he starts Road House in a completely different place to Patrick Swayze's Dalton. He's at his lowest point, whereas Patrick Swayze's Dalton is employed, well-respected, and looking for his next adventure. This is a key difference, because it means that Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton is a more reluctant hero.

5 Patrick Swayze's Dalton Has More Of A System

Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton had nobody from his past he can rely on

In the original Road House, Dalton is able to call in his old mentor Wade Garrett when he realizes the size of the task at hand. Wade is a bouncer too, and he guides Dalton through his work, but he's also a friend when Dalton needs one the most. Wade warns Dalton to leave town when the situation becomes too dangerous. Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton has no such friend to watch his back. He arrives in Glass Key as a complete loner. His past is clear for everyone to see, but he has nobody by his side and nobody tying him to another place.

The 2024 Road House sequel could feature an entirely new cast of characters.

4 Road House 2024 Explores Dalton's Dark Side More

Dalton's inner turmoil is more important in the remake

After walking away with his winnings from the bareknuckle boxing fight, Dalton parks his car on some train tracks and turns his engine off. He only changes his mind at the very last second, and the rear end of his car is swiped by the train as he escapes. Patrick Swayze's Dalton in the original Road House doesn't have this same darkness inside him. A few characters mention the fact that he's haunted by the time he killed a man in a fight, but it doesn't seem to have as much of an effect on his disposition, and he never attempts to take his own life.

Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton also has some other dark moments. Both versions of Dalton are trying to keep their violent impulses at bay, but the remake hints toward Dalton's inner turmoil more explicitly. He tells Frankie that he's afraid of what he might become if he releases his innermost feelings. He's a human weapon trying to use his powers for good, but in the end he only manages to overcome Brandt and Knox by giving in to his violent nature. On the surface, Road House's ending is a triumph over the bad guys. However, Dalton's internal conflict doesn't reach a satisfying conclusion.

3 Jake Gyllenhaal Has More Comedic Moments As Dalton

The Road House remake continues a recent action movie trend

Both versions of Road House are peppered with memorable one-liners and wise cracks. Patrick Swayze gets the lion's share of the punch lines in the original. He's always quick with a comeback when someone makes a crack about his size, and he can share a joke with Elizabeth, Wade and Cody. Jake Gyllenhaal's iteration of the character has all these traits and more. Although he is the darker character, he also has a comedic side. This makes use of Gyllenhaal's lighthearted charm as an actor, even in serious situations.

Recent action movies have all adopted a fairly broad style of humor, and Road House continues this trend. Fortunately, Jake Gyllenhaal can make this humor work where other actors would fail. His Dalton makes light of intense situations, like when he's on Brandt's boat, commentating on the double-crossing in real time. This self-aware humor seeps into some of his interactions without any jokes. It shouldn't be funny when Dalton tells a man that he's broken his hyoid bone and he's about to die, but somehow it is.

2 Patrick Swayze's Dalton Is More ionate About Injustice

Swayze's Dalton is guided by his moral com, but Gyllenhaal's Dalton wants to protect himself

The opening scenes of the original Road House show Patrick Swayze taking care of business in a bar in New York. He then accepts a job offer in Missouri and moves across the country in a heartbeat. The money is exactly what he asked for, but Dalton shows multiple times that his commitment to the town and to the Double Deuces goes beyond what could reasonably be expected of him. Dalton stays in Jasper because he realizes what Wesley is doing to the good folk is abhorrent and unfair. Even when Wade and Elizabeth urge him to leave for his own safety, he sticks around until the job is done.

The remake shows that Dalton doesn't have a comparable level of commitment. He's a reluctant hero in Glass Key, only there in the first place because he needs money and only hanging around as long as he is safe. He has no problem beating up a couple of local troublemakers, but when his life is in danger he gets ready to leave. He stays because he wants revenge against Brandt for burning the book store, and yet he's happy to cut and run when he knows that the Road House and its staff are in jeopardy. Gyllenhaal's Dalton is self-serving first and foremost.

1 Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton Is A Better Fighter

The remake of Road House shows off a more impressive range of fighting skills and some tougher opponents

It's hard to directly compare two fighters from movies that abide by different logic, but Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton seems like a more accomplished fighter than Patrick Swayze's 1989 version. Gyllenhaal's Dalton is a former UFC champion, and he has an understanding of the human body that allows him to inflict incredible damage without expending much effort at all. He kills Vince with a single punch to the throat and he breaks Jack's fingers in mere seconds. Road House's best fights pit Dalton against much more dangerous foes, but he still comes out on top.

Gyllenhaal's Dalton is able to draw on incredible reserves of mental fortitude. He overturns losing positions in his fatal UFC fight and his final brawl with Knox. Patrick Swayze's Dalton doesn't face any threat quite so deadly. His fight with Jimmy Reno is a close call, but Reno doesn't show that he's anywhere near as dangerous as Knox. The biggest piece of evidence that Gyllenhaal's version of Dalton is a better fighter is that he is able to take on Dell and his four friends all by himself, hospitalizing them within seconds. Swayze's Dalton is overpowered by four enemies in the original Road House, and he needs Wade to rescue him.

Of course, Patrick Swayze's Dalton has one thing that Jake Gyllenhaal's version doesn't, and that's the ability to rip a man's throat out with his bare hands. This is where any comparisons inevitably fall apart. Both movies are pure action fantasy, but the original Road House is much bolder in the way it deals with its outlandish elements. Like many 1980s action movies, every explosion is a little bigger than it needs to be, and every punch is a little louder. Jake Gyllenhaal's Road House training regimen gave him a superhero physique, and this arguably gives him the edge over Swayze in any hypothetical fight.