The Bikeriders | Review & Score

About: After a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy is drawn to Benny, member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

"I can run this club forever. I've built this from nothing. This is our family. You and me kid."

Jeff Nichols is back with another gritty tale, THE BIKERIDERS.

Other than Austin Butler being extremely miscast as Benny, The Bikeriders is a great movie, with terrific performances from Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy. I've heard of the real life story this is based on, but never really read too much into it. I like stories like this, about brotherhood, family, bonding and all of that. This is a pretty straight forward story, and really manages to capture the spirit of '60s and '70s culture.

I do wanna say, Butler didn't have a terrible performance by any means, I just feel he was miscast. I can't look at him and say... "Oh, yeah... I can see him as a biker". I just can't tell you that. He's a great actor, but this could have went to someone with a lot more.... grit. Tom Hardy, on the other hand, was terrific as Johnny and he just makes sense when you look at him. Hardy is one of the grittiest actors out there and he's been able to be believable in his roles, because he picks the right ones.

Johnny is one of them.

Jodie Comer as Kathy was another knockout. She is the heart of the film and most will say she's the brains of the film. Her performance is terrific and deserves some recognition come awards time. Hardy as well.

Other solid performances include Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny and Toby Wallace as The Kid. Both of those guys knocked it out the park, with Reedus managing to steal a couple scenes from the stars. Wallace as The Kid is another solid, gritty and believable performance.

All in all, THE BIKERIDERS is a gritty tale of brotherhood, love and a surprising amount of heart, laced with a ton of charisma from the ensemble cast. Oh, and another thing... Michael Shannon is fantastic as well. He's always so good.

4/5