‘The Bikeriders’ Elevated by Performances
Check out my quick review of The Bikeriders on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and follow me on Letterboxd to see what I’m watching.
Based on a photography book, The Bikeriders is the story of a midwestern motorcycle club evolving and changing along with society in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Our story is mostly told from the perspective of Kathy (Jodie Comer), a midwestern gal drawn to bad boys on motorcycles. She marries Benny (Austin Butler), a member of the Vandals, a club started by Johnny (Tom Hardy doing another one of his classic weird voices).
With a romanticized view of the freedom of the open road and a love for vintage motorcycle aesthetics, it feels a bit like Jason Momoa’s TV show On the Roam which is filled to the brim with reverent b-roll of old motorcycle engines, mechanics welding things, and visuals that look straight out of a Carhartt commercial.
Butler fits right in with this vibe, quietly brooding and delivering his lines in a sexy, breathy tone that’s clearly meant to tap into his heartthrob status. Is he hot in this movie? Sure. But Benny is also the least interesting character when compared to the wild swings Hardy and Comer are taking.
In addition to the main cast, we have interesting side characters played by Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus, who rocks an absolutely wild pair of fake teeth.
The story is not particularly compelling—it’s basically just a group of guys who find that the times they are a-changin’ and not necessarily for the better but the performances keep your attention and there is a surprising amount of humor in the film. Comer and Hardy seem to lean into the comedy, but there are also some absolutely wild swings in here performance-wise that make me wonder if the intention was to get a laugh.
So I can’t say I loved The Bikeriders, but I did find it interesting from the perspective of acting choices and a cool, vintage-feeling visual style.
