"Exit Speed" director Scott Ziehl's 2006 straight-to-video sequel "Road House 2: Last Call" qualifies an above-average guilty pleasure that makes several homages to the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic "Road House." Typically, these B-movie spin-offs qualify as barely half as good as their predecessors. The no-name cast and the flimsy premise that links it to the original "Road House" might raise serious doubts in the minds of those who craved the original about watching it. Actually, despite eliminating Swayze's character, this slam-bang, 86-minute fracas casts Johnathon Schaech as Shane Tanner. Ostensibly, Tanner is the son of James Dalton, but Shane's uncle, Nate Tanner (Will Patton of "Armageddon"), raised him as a youth since Dalton was far too busy as a bouncer at various clubs. Now, Shane has grown up and is working as an undercover DEA Agent in New York City when we first see him make a bust.
As it turns out, Shane got his first taste of law enforcement as a Louisiana State Trooper. Shane's uncle Nate owns The Black Pelican, a popular hang-out for partygoers and drug dealers. When Nate refuses to sell out to the local criminal honcho, Will Bill Decarie (Jake Busey of "Starship Troopers"), the villains set him up, beat him down, and his injuries land him in a hospital bed. After a local cop notifies him about his uncle's hardship, Shane takes an impromptu leave of absence and drives back home. Like his father, Shane refuses to travel by air. Instead, he cruises down to Louisiana in his own car. Along the way, he spots a gorgeous babe, Beau (Ellen Hollman of "Army of One"), on the side of the road, changing a flat on her jeep. Gallantly, Shane offers to help her out. Reluctantly, Beau lets him. Coincidentally, Decarie careens back past them while Shane is swapping out tires. Later, we're told Beau is Decarie's cousin. Once Wild Bill knows about Beau's relationship with Shane, he warns her in advance when he plans to harm her boyfriend, so she doesn't suffer the fate of collateral damage in the crossfire. However, Ziehl and scenarists Miles Chapman of "Escape Plan," television scribe Richard Chizmar, and Schaech don't let audiences know about Wild Bill and Beau's kinship until later.
Meanwhile, with Nate laid up in the hospital, Decarie hopes to scare Shane into sell out, but our protagonist refuses to sell much to Bill's chagrin. Wild Bill is especially infuriated because his Miami-based employer, Victor Cross (Richard Norton of "Lionheart"), has big plans to expand his illegal narcotics shenanigans by using The Black Pelican as a local headquarters for his skullduggery. Later, when Shane is at the club, Beau shows up to thank him properly, but then leaves in a huff and forgets to take her cell phone. Meanwhile, the treacherous bouncer who betrayed Nate and sent him to a rendezvous with Wild Bill's minions keeps feeding Bill every move Tanner makes. "Road House" fans may be sad to learn Wild Bill on orders from Cross killed Tanner's father Dalton. Apparently, Bill murdered Dalton because the latter wanted to exact vengeance on Shane for arresting him on drug charges. The trouble is Wild Bill shot the wrong person. Instead of putting Tanner on ice, he killed Tanner's dad by accident. Since the homicide, Shane has been struggling to find the person responsible for his dad's demise. The chances of Swayze reprising his role as James Dalton were questionable. In 2009, the "Dirty Dancing" heartthrob died at 57 about a 20-month bout with pancreatic cancer.
Johnathon Schaech lacks Patrick Swayze's boy toy physique. Although several people use the same line on Shane that they did with Dalton about his lack of stature, Schaech looks far brawnier that Swayze. Jake Busey chews the scenery with panache as the secondary villain, while legendary Aussie stunt man Richard Norton garners little screen time as Busey's boss. "Fast & Furious" stunt coordinator J. J. Perry stages several visceral, bang-up fistfights both inside and outside of the bar that look terrific. These stunt men don't just fall down, they appear to be on wires as they are catapulted backwards. Altogether, "Road House 2: Last Call" snuffs the "Road House" franchise since Swayze's character was slain before the timeline of the movie started. Director Scott Ziehl keeps things popping throughout this trim 86-minute potboiler, and he never wears out his welcome. Indestructible Will Patton appears to be playing the equivalent of the Sam Elliot role. Altogether, don't believe some of the negative reviews here about "Road House 2" because it is an entertaining saga.
As it turns out, Shane got his first taste of law enforcement as a Louisiana State Trooper. Shane's uncle Nate owns The Black Pelican, a popular hang-out for partygoers and drug dealers. When Nate refuses to sell out to the local criminal honcho, Will Bill Decarie (Jake Busey of "Starship Troopers"), the villains set him up, beat him down, and his injuries land him in a hospital bed. After a local cop notifies him about his uncle's hardship, Shane takes an impromptu leave of absence and drives back home. Like his father, Shane refuses to travel by air. Instead, he cruises down to Louisiana in his own car. Along the way, he spots a gorgeous babe, Beau (Ellen Hollman of "Army of One"), on the side of the road, changing a flat on her jeep. Gallantly, Shane offers to help her out. Reluctantly, Beau lets him. Coincidentally, Decarie careens back past them while Shane is swapping out tires. Later, we're told Beau is Decarie's cousin. Once Wild Bill knows about Beau's relationship with Shane, he warns her in advance when he plans to harm her boyfriend, so she doesn't suffer the fate of collateral damage in the crossfire. However, Ziehl and scenarists Miles Chapman of "Escape Plan," television scribe Richard Chizmar, and Schaech don't let audiences know about Wild Bill and Beau's kinship until later.
Meanwhile, with Nate laid up in the hospital, Decarie hopes to scare Shane into sell out, but our protagonist refuses to sell much to Bill's chagrin. Wild Bill is especially infuriated because his Miami-based employer, Victor Cross (Richard Norton of "Lionheart"), has big plans to expand his illegal narcotics shenanigans by using The Black Pelican as a local headquarters for his skullduggery. Later, when Shane is at the club, Beau shows up to thank him properly, but then leaves in a huff and forgets to take her cell phone. Meanwhile, the treacherous bouncer who betrayed Nate and sent him to a rendezvous with Wild Bill's minions keeps feeding Bill every move Tanner makes. "Road House" fans may be sad to learn Wild Bill on orders from Cross killed Tanner's father Dalton. Apparently, Bill murdered Dalton because the latter wanted to exact vengeance on Shane for arresting him on drug charges. The trouble is Wild Bill shot the wrong person. Instead of putting Tanner on ice, he killed Tanner's dad by accident. Since the homicide, Shane has been struggling to find the person responsible for his dad's demise. The chances of Swayze reprising his role as James Dalton were questionable. In 2009, the "Dirty Dancing" heartthrob died at 57 about a 20-month bout with pancreatic cancer.
Johnathon Schaech lacks Patrick Swayze's boy toy physique. Although several people use the same line on Shane that they did with Dalton about his lack of stature, Schaech looks far brawnier that Swayze. Jake Busey chews the scenery with panache as the secondary villain, while legendary Aussie stunt man Richard Norton garners little screen time as Busey's boss. "Fast & Furious" stunt coordinator J. J. Perry stages several visceral, bang-up fistfights both inside and outside of the bar that look terrific. These stunt men don't just fall down, they appear to be on wires as they are catapulted backwards. Altogether, "Road House 2: Last Call" snuffs the "Road House" franchise since Swayze's character was slain before the timeline of the movie started. Director Scott Ziehl keeps things popping throughout this trim 86-minute potboiler, and he never wears out his welcome. Indestructible Will Patton appears to be playing the equivalent of the Sam Elliot role. Altogether, don't believe some of the negative reviews here about "Road House 2" because it is an entertaining saga.