Directed by:
Jeff NicholsScreenplay:
Jeff NicholsCinematography:
Adam StoneComposer:
David WingoCast:
Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, Damon Herriman, Beau Knapp, Emory Cohen, Karl Glusman (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
The Bikeriders captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy). Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (11)
The Bikeriders rides the wave of nostalgia. The cast is definitely trendy, but the story feels like filler between Danny Lyon's photos. It's not really important that the inspiration from The Wild One seemed somewhat archaic even in the sixties. What matters is that the tradition of Easy Rider continues.
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A quality film, but not made for me, thematically and emotionally it missed me completely - and if I hadn't been at the cinema , I probably wouldn't have made it to the end. I can't tune in to see the characters as at least partially sympathetic libertarian rebels. To me, they all came off as irresponsible buffoons from the start.
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Jeff Nichols manages to evoke a nice retro feel, but only skims the surface with his characters. Even though the script tries to tell me each of the few characters has a past and possibly a future, I didn't care for any of them. One-dimensional characters like this can't carry the weight of the story for me. Plus, in a movie about motorcycle riders, I would have expected a few more eye-candy moments, some great locations, some imaginative cinematography. But there's not much here. [KVIFF 2024]
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This is exactly the kind of movie I would never go to see on my own, but I attended the FilmBooster screening out of curiosity and it turned out exactly as I expected. I have to single out the absolutely excellent Tom Hardy, I adore him in literally every film, and here he plays his character flawlessly as well, and likewise all the A-listers who second him are solidly memorable. The idea, however (although I was entertained at a couple of moments), went completely over my head and didn't say anything to me, so I had a bit of trouble getting more into the film. The whole thing is kind of a fast-paced story of one group of bikers, who are a joy to watch, but who on the other hand don't do anything memorable, making the movie a sort of a fly-by of bland scenes. Those who like this type of movies can add a star, but otherwise it's just a bland "meh" without much punch for me.
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Old school. Honest filmmaking, yet Jeff Nichols goes about it a little differently. A motorcycle thesis, starting with a look at Marlon Brando in The Wild One, wanders between the various characters, their monologues about the poor and war, cars and banging the pretty Kathy. The acting is top-notch in each of the Vandals, but Austin Butler and Tom Hardy tower above them all. Hardy's thoughtful, good-natured Johnny as the founder and boss shows that it was all originally about picnics and a sense of freedom, and Butler, as the embodiment of that Savage, is the role model and son he always wanted (I guess? Nichols is not literally wise). The Bikeriders is based on a photo book so it's fortunate that it has a plot arc and an unexpected ending and says a lot about what women think of men. Still, it lacked one bigger scene to stick in the memory and push it up that proverbial notch. But maybe they didn't put it in for a greater sense of realism.
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