The ending of Road House (2024) is predictably full of carnage and potentially sets up a sequel or spin-off focusing on a surviving Knox. The Doug Liman reimagining follows former UFC middleweight fighter Elwood Dalton as he takes on a bouncer job at a Florida Keys roadhouse run by Frankie. Soon enough, Dalton realizes he’s up against crime boss Ben Brandt, his lackey sheriff, and the criminally insane Knox. By the end, Dalton does what he must to keep the small-town residents safe. Here’s a breakdown of what happened in those action-packed final scenes.
Road House Ending Explained
After Brandt’s final attempt to nicely get Dalton to leave town fails, Knox gets the green light to get rid of our protagonist. Knox and the thugs make their way into the Road House and start creating some chaos. When Dalton and Knox finally come face-to-face, it becomes apparent our hero met his match. Knox and his men beat Dalton to a pulp and almost destroy the bar in the process.
Why is Ben Brandt so interested in the Road House?
Battered and bruised, Dalton goes to his boat only to pack his belongings and get out of town. Frankie catches up with him and apologizes for not being completely honest. According to her, Ben Brandt wants to buy the Road House, take it down, and build a luxury resort in its place. That’s why he’s been paying the late Dell and his thugs to torment the roadhouse and its patrons.
Still determined to leave town, Dalton stops by the bookstore to say goodbye to Charlie. When he learns that Brandt ordered his thugs to burn down the place, Dalton swiftly changes his mind about skipping town. Instead he goes to the Brandt thug house to seek retribution. As he’s beating the daylight out of Vince, ever-helpful Dalton offers some medical commentary.
While Vince is dying inside the pool, Dalton tells him the reason he was trying to leave. Dalton may be scared, but it’s not Brandt and his men he fears. He’s afraid of how much damage he’ll do to them once they push him over the edge.
As he’s getting rid of Vince’s body, Dalton runs into Moe, the friendliest and smartest guy from the gang of thugs. Moe tells Dalton where to find Brandt before getting on his bike and abandoning the Keys and his short-lived thug life.
The following morning, Dalton starts his day by framing a sheriff’s deputy for Vince’s murder and stealing a suitcase filled with Brandt’s money from him. When the sheriff approaches Dalton, he learns that Brandt took Ellie in retaliation for the missing cash.
Did Brandt kidnap Ellie?
Things get messy on Brandt’s boat when Dalton shows up without the money. While the Sherrif thought Ellie’s kidnapping was a ruse, it turns out Brandt did take her. Dalton blows up the boat he stole to get there, and in the ensuing chaos, Brandt kidnaps Ellie (again) and heads toward The Road House.
Meanwhile, Dalton has an opportunity for a rematch with Knox. This time, the two fight while inside a moving high-speed boat.
A game of boat chicken leads to Dalton jumping inside Brandt’s boat. After a brief struggle, Ellie and Dalton escape the boat before it hits the Road House. Brandt doesn’t jump off in time but somehow survives the collision with only a few minor scratches.
Does Dalton put an end to Brandt and Knox’s reign of terror?
As Dalton is about to finish Brandt off, Knox drives a stolen pick-up truck through the bar. After a long, drawn-out fight, Knox gains the upper hand and shoves a wooden stake into Dalton’s old stab wound. Knox is briefly distracted by an injured Brandt demanding he kills Dalton. Instead of obeying the order, Knox breaks the junior crime boss’s neck.
The brief pause was enough for Dalton to regain enough strength to finally defeat Knox. When Ellie walks in on the scene, she’s horrified at the carnage. Surprisingly, the sheriff advises Dalton to leave and promises to cover for him. After all, there are perks to saving the life of Sherrif’s daughter.
What happened to the money Dalton stole from Brandt?
As Dalton is waiting for his bus out of town, Frankie and her staff start work on fixing The Road House. Before leaving, Dalton gifts the suitcase full of money to Charlie and her dad, to help them rebuild their bookstore after the fire.
The movie ends with Dalton staring out the window as his bus takes him away from Glass Key. However, a post-credit scene shows an injured but still alive Knox walking out of the hospital after beating up several doctors and nurses. If Prime Video were to greenlight a sequel (after the director is done sulking over the lack of theatrical release), it makes sense they’d want Knox back.
What did you think of the ending of Road House (2024)? Comment below.
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