Director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) is an expert at creating ordinary characters, putting them in everyday situations, and allowing interactions and relationships to carry the story. He has masterfully accomplished this through films I adore, such as Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, and Mud, and through films, such as Midnight Special and Loving, that aren’t quite as good as a whole but still have well-crafted characters. The Bikeriders, his most recent film, follows a similar blueprint but fails to tell an exciting story or have a single character we genuinely care about. While well made with a stellar cast that put forward the effort, the film was a snoozefest.

Inspired by actual events from 1965-1973, The Bikeriders tells the story of The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, a group of motorcyclists founded in southwest suburban McCook, Illinois. Danny Lyon (Mike Faist – West Side Story, Challengers) is a young photographer fascinated by motorcyclists. His 1968 book of the same name features interviews, oral histories, and firsthand stories from club members.

Those expecting a film version of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy will be highly disappointed. The Bikeriders lacks both the intense storylines and any memorable characters that the highly touted FX show from 2008 to 2014 was known for. Likewise, it fails to offer the charm and substance of classic motorcycle films like Easy Rider and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Drop) gives a solid lead performance as Johnny, the unquestioned leader of The Outlaws Motorcycle Club. A full-time truck driver and faithful husband, Johnny becomes instantly immersed in the outlaw motorcycle life after watching the Marlon Brando-led The Wild One.

Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood) stars as dashing heartthrob and rebel Benny. As Johnny’s righthand man, he pulls off a James Dean Rebel Without a Cause performance that makes him stand out like the coolest kid in class. Much of the film is told through narrations of his wife, Kathy (Jodie Comer (The Last Duel, Free Guy).

As the local club expands and establishes itself regionally,  other clubs propose opening chapters in their cities with the Vandals name. Johnny learns quickly that with prestige comes unchartered opportunities and threats. Through Danny’s lens, we see how Benny, Funny (Norman Reedus – AMC’s The Walking Dead), Zipco (Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Revolutionary Road), Cal (Boyd Holbrook – Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, Logan), and other loyalists back the leadership of Johnny, as he navigates this new world where motorcyclists, instead of just talking about it, the club was participating in things that previously motorcycle groups hadn’t before.

The Bikeriders felt doomed from the start. Already having been pushed from a 2023 to 2024 release due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, anticipatory moviegoers entered their viewings with expectations that wouldn’t be fulfilled. Everything about the movie was fine except for the story. There was star power with Hardy, Butler, Comer, and Shannon. It was beautifully filmed. However, there needed to be a better story. There wasn’t much that happened. We didn’t particularly care about the things that happened. Johnny and Benny were neither likable nor unlikeable. They were blah. The story was blah. I left the movie wondering how and why so many people agreed to be part of such a boring story.

Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 7/10
Character Chemistry 7.5/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 7/10
Directing 7/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 7/10
Hook and Reel 6/10
Universal Relevance 6/10
72%

C-

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• Easy Rider
• Midnight Special
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• The Outsiders
• Rebel Without a Cause