Fists or Knives? Either Way, This Film Isn’t a Winner

Watching The Bikeriders, it’s hard to know what writer/director Jeff Nichols had in mind.

The film’s first third is kind of like an unintentionally comedic take on Goodfellas, with Nichols introducing us to a crew of bikers, each with one wacky nickname after another. There’s Cockroach, Funny Sonny, Big Jack, Wahoo … you get the idea. Meanwhile, while classic 1960s tunes play on the soundtrack, Jodie Comer’s Kathy sets up the story in what may be the heaviest Midwestern accent you’ll ever hear — or maybe it just seems that way because nobody else in the film is using one. 

It’s the mid-1960s, and Kathy is telling us about a gang in Chicago called the Vandals, which is led by Johnny (Tom Hardy, The Dark Knight Rises), whose second-in-command, Benny (Austin Butler), Kathy falls for instantly. And who could blame her? As portrayed by Butler, Benny is the coolest one in any of the rooms. Good looking, soft-spoken … the strong, silent type. 

Essentially, The Bikeriders — which was inspired by a 1968 book of photos by Danny Lyon — is about a group of guys who are real losers; outcasts who aren’t wanted by their families, their government (one played by Michael Shannon tells of how he practically begged to go to Vietnam), or anyone, really, but they find each other in this gang where they act like entitled kings. And then it all goes south (metaphorically, anyway) as a result of the war and the changing times. The film feels like an allegory for what’s going on in the U.S. today, where so many outcasts find an identity as part of a group of likeminded folks who then proceed to give the establishment the middle finger. 

Even more, though, the film is about Benny’s coming of age, and how he finds himself in the Vandals and decides who he really wants to be. That Benny is the only character here worth rooting for is a credit to Butler, whose performance is the best of the bunch. He’s just a magnetic on-screen presence, so when the film focuses on him, it’s better. Alas, there are all those other bikers to deal with. And Comer’s nails-on-a-chalkboard accent.

Nichols does effectively recreate some of Lyons’ photos, but The Bikeriders is basically a poor-man’s Scorsese film, a bumpy ride with some real dips and turns, and that helps to explain why it was delayed from its initial late 2023 release date, because it’s clear The Bikeriders is no awards contender. Maybe for a Razzie, if anything.

I’m giving it a B–.