Where to watch Road House 2: Last Call
2 Stars
While he’s deep undercover in New York, DEA agent Shane Tanner, the son of a legendary cooler named Dalton, learns that his uncle Nate Tanner got beat up by a group of men because he doesn’t want to sell the Black Pelican, his bar in Tyree, Louisiana. Shane takes off for Louisiana to find out who attacked Nate. Shane decides to stay in Nate’s house for the time being, and run the Black Pelican in Nate’s absence, much to the dismay of former Black Pelican cooler Bill “Wild Bill” Decarie. Wild Bill wants to buy the Black Pelican since it’s located in a prime location for running drugs. The Black Pelican is close to the border, it’s between Florida and Texas, and it’s in an area where drugs can be smuggled pretty much undetected. But Shane doesn’t want to sell, and damages the numerous thugs that Bill sends his way. Also, Dalton was murdered years ago, and Shane still wonders who killed Dalton. When Shane was a rookie state trooper in Tyree, Shane had come home from work one night, and found Dalton fatally shot. After that, Shane left town and became a DEA agent. Now, Wild Bill’s boss, Miami crime syndicate kingpin Victor Crost, decides that it’s time to handle matters personally, because Wild Bill’s men are not doing a good job of it. Shane is soon faced with impossible odds and a low number of staff members at the Black Pelican. To rid Louisiana of Victor, Wild Bill, and their organization, Shane teams up with local school teacher Beau Hampton, who is a regular at the Black Pelican.
Road House 2: Last Call is an idiotic sequel that disregards the simple rules and philosophy setup in the previous film. Fresh off his portrayal in 8mm 2, Johnathon Schaech steps into another direct-to-video sequel. Schaech, who resembles Antonio Sabato Jr., takes over for the late Patrick Swayze. Obviously, Schaech is no Swayze, and he sure as hell is no Nicolas Cage. But he does manage to bring a bit of (limited) charm to the proceedings. The plot goes something like this: Shane Tanner (Schaech), a DEA agent, returns to Louisiana determined to bust the drug dealers terrorizing his uncle Nate (Patton). It turns out the local gangs wants control of the local watering hole, a rowdy bar owned by Nate, because they consider it prime real estate for drug trafficking. So Shane goes undercover and decides to take over the pelican for his uncle. It’s not long before Tanner realize he is in much over his head, and these gangs are backed by heavy firepower out of Miami.
Jake Busey goes the villain route here. Though he is not nearly as menacing as his father, Gary Busey, in < >Lethal Weapon, he is the type of villain who is constantly beating on his subordinates. Will Patton seems to be the only one on the right channel. His presence is an unexpected surprise, and he acquits himself nicely in what is basically a cameo. In this dull action flick it’s Will Patton, an underrated actor, who provides the necessary jolt of energy and fun. The first film is one of the best guilty pleasure movies of all time. It’s a ready-made franchise with roots in the western and martial arts genres. The sad reality is that we never got a proper sequel to Road House. And the fact is that this follow-up is a very mediocre movie.
The major miscalculation by writers Miles Chapman, Johnathon Schaech, and Richard Chizmar is in creating one of the most obnoxious female love interests in screen history. Ellen Hollman is an attractive woman, but as written, she is a total asshole. Her inclusion in the film is uncessary. She is not a character so much as a plot device. Road House 2 is not terrible, especially considering some of the dreck that typically populates the direct-to-DVD world. It is a good-looking picture with well-choreographed fight scenes and a rather breezy 86-minute running time. I may have been kinder to this film had it been simply titled Last Call because the Road House connection is so vague and inorganic that it feels as if the producers renamed the script in an attempt to cash in. I wonder how that worked out for them. If they realized they had sunk a viable franchise, I wonder if they care.
Directed by: Scott Ziehl
Written by: R. Lance Hill (characters created by), Miles Chapman (story), Miles Chapman (screenplay), Johnathon Schaech (screenplay), Richard Chizmar (screenplay)
Starring: Johnathon Schaech, Ellen Hollman, Richard Norton, Jake Busey