Last Updated on June 28, 2024 by
Jeff Nichols directs the Bikeriders 2023 movie and stars Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy. With the runtime of 1h 56m theater released June 21, 2024
Adapted from Danny Lyon’s photo book of the 1960s, The Bikeriders features the real-life Chicago motorcycle club, the Vandals. The club is formed of a group of macho people who are friends and Johnny (Tom Hardy), with a very non-verbal but highly aggressive personality. Through Kathy’s testimony, as told by Jodie Comer, one sees and hears how the group emerged, as well as the trajectory of her character’s dance with Benny, played by Austin Butler.
The initial 40-50 minutes of Nichols’ film is a splendid setup of the biker culture existing in the sixties. These comparisons are apropos at this point and as we meet Comer’s Kathy she has her very own near Scorsese record scratch ’I bet you’re wondering how I got here’ scene as featured in most of Goodfellas. In this case, Cathy gets to a biker’s bar to assist a friend, and every man in the bar –those scary marvelous bikers– looks at her including Benny.
Of course, Kathleen is the character, and from whose point of view events unfold and it’s a bit unexpected, and I don’t mean by the Chicago accent of Comer. Unfortunately, in the presentation, Kathy feels like she is in on everything that is going on in the group, like she is one of them, especially when the story moves forward in time to the 70s. Not a hint that, since this refers to her POV, she could be partial or there is uncertainty in it. And since the story is being narrated to a writer by the character (a very underused Mike Faist), it would more logically make sense for him to simply sit down and conduct a series of interviews with various members of the gang in an oral history style.
Although I usually try not to bash specific techniques or accents that the actors use — and I could probably write a treatise on the questionable singing of Amy Winehouse in ‘Back to Black’ — Comer’s acting is off-kilter in this show in the most unbecoming manner. The accent is a blend of Frances McDormand in Fargo and Lorraine Bracco from Goodfellas but, still, much more significant than that, Comer too often simply gazes in mute disbelief and boredom in the search for acting. The character is depicted as surviving in the wrong woods a babe in the woods however little development of the relation between the character and Benny is depicted. If she’s attracted to the danger we don’t know from the rest of the video seeing her jump with joy for the thrill of it.
Instead, the movie portrays Kathy being in a wrestling match for the soul of Benny against Johnny and this is not a fair fight. Tom Hardy does his fair share of showboating too with an over-the-top muddy Marlon Brando mumble but there is trouble brewing within him. Claiming to start the group based on Brando’s film The Wild One, Johnny is as powerful as the respect offered to him in the club; the personal lives of the MC members other than they are married, aren’t shown. However, as Nichols described through his script, the impulse of people joining the club is to seek some kind of order and stability other than the existing horror.
This is Hardy’s movie through and through because whenever he appears on the view one is just eager for something. A scene where a member challenges him leads to Hardy coolly asking, ‘Fists or knives?’ On the whole, this is not a movie that has a lot of high-energy fight scenes but this one is particularly gruelling to sit through. It also works as a great setup for another shoot ”’em-up fight toward the end of the movie.
If you are going to watch this for Austin Butler, be prepared for him to be less exciting. He even gets the movie star build-up, there is a close-up shot of him over the pool table that makes it seem like people are sighing. He is such a big hub in this show and Butler did do so much just with his mere existence. But there are large parts of the film where he can only talk from the back seat or is absent entirely preferring Kathy.
The shift to the 1970s is abrupt, and the viewers are introduced to a less sexy image of this club; the final transformation of the motorcycle clubs as communities of men becoming gangs. If you are familiar with Sons of Anarchy then you are aware of the formula that was used here. It never really sums up the first 40-50 minutes that we witnessed but there isn’t a single moment that was plain dull.
As for the movie, we have come close to 900 words and it is for good reason: while The Bikeriders is worth a watch, it doesn’t rise to the level of greatness. Tom Hardy and Austin Butler are good, but the worst idea is to make Kathy the narrator – even if that is how the book by Danny Lyon functions – much more does not like Comer’s accent. Even after watching this movie, it would not be entirely a shock to know that there are another 30 extra minutes of this kind of film languishing somewhere waiting for the director’s cut that would make everything feel more complete. But it is surely one to observe and even try out.
The Bikeriders Parents Guide Age Rating
The Bikeriders is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for R for language throughout, violence, some drug use, and brief sexuality.
Note: parental discretion is advised because the movie features some scenes that may not be suitable for young viewers.
Violence & Gore: The movie contains scenes of violence with high intensity and frequency that include a fistfight and a knife fight. Another scene in the series describes one of the members being attacked and as a result, receiving serious beatings. Also, one can mention the final scenes in the form of the shooting which takes place towards the end of the movie. Throughout the comic, “The Bikeriders” the balance of themes is chiefly severe, and the overall mood of the comic addresses such topics as violence and criminality. Some audiences might find it disturbing how the film portrays a motor club as violent and prone to fights.
Profanity: Swearing is commonly observed in the film; more than ten instances of the F word as well as other forms of vulgarity are noted.
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: Alcohol has become apparent and visible with samples of characters being involved in the use of cigarettes and taking alcohol especially when they are in bars. There are several instances where characters suggest they are under the influence of a substance but actual substance abuse is not portrayed.
Sexual Content: Some scenes that can be considered as containing sexual connotations consist of close-ups and some hints of sex however there are no actual scenes of sex in the movie. However, they are not mentioned but sexual connotations are understood.
