Movie review: ‘The Bikeriders’

In the 1960s, Danny Lyon joined the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. During his time with this club, he documented the entire experience through his photographs and recordings of interactions with the other members. 

This documentation went on to be published in a book titled “The Bikeriders,” which went on to inspire this film titled with the same name. 

The film is a loose fictionalization that is heavily influenced by Danny’s work, and also features a character named Danny. Danny is a reporter attached to the Club but this is not based on a true story.

According to Variety this film had a rough production cycle, originally being slotted for a release in the United States in 2023, only to be delayed until June 2024 because of the Screen Actors Guild strike that was ongoing at the end of last year. 

According to  another article from Variety, the film rights were passed from different production companies until finally landing with Focus Features. 

All of these problems aside, “The Bikeriders” was finally released, which is a benefit to all viewers who love the classic motorcycle culture. 

Unless you are familiar with the classics such as “Easy Rider” or “The Wild One,” you may be wondering why there are so few theatrical films surrounding the topic of motorcycle gangs and clubs, even though American culture was so heavily influenced by these roaring machines and groups during the back end of the 20th century. 

This film displays the effect that Marlon Brando had on the public with his film “The Wild One,” as one of the characters starts a motorcycle club because he saw the classic film playing on television. 

There are many reasons why there have been so few films surrounding motorcycles on the big screen, but all of those reasons aside, it is safe to say that because of “The Bikeriders,” we may see a resurgence of the genre. The last time that we saw such a spike in interest in motorcycle gangs was with the television show “Sons of Anarchy,” so it is nice to see some new faces and perspectives on the genre. 

The film had a stacked cast that included Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus and Mike Faist. 

With such a talented and experienced cast, it is curious that this film would not be rated higher by critics than it currently is, only scoring a seven out of ten on IMDb. This reception from critics could be attributed to the pacing of the film, which will be addressed later in this article.

“The Bikeriders” is set up like a documentary, with Comer narrating the entire film as Kathy, the spouse of Butler’s character Benny. Throughout the narration viewers get flashbacks of how Kathy was introduced to the club and other major events that happened within the club from 1965 to 1973. 

We follow the story along as the Chicago Vandals Motorcycle Club makes their way from nothing to one of the largest “one-percenter” clubs in the United States. 

A “one-percenter”  is a type of motorcycle club that is classified as an “outlaw” club. In the real world, these are clubs like the Hells Angels, Bandidos and the Pagan’s. These clubs have no regard for modern societal standards and deal almost exclusively in illegal activities. 

These types of clubs also managed to capture the attention of any rebellious youth, as well as the rest of society in the mid to late 20th century. 

Within “The Bikeriders” audiences are ushered along what is considered to be the golden age of motorcycles. The reason that this time period is considered to be the golden age is because it took place long before the culture was entirely involved in illegal activities for the production of money. 

One of the main characters of this story is Benny, who is a member of the Vandals. Benny is a man who embodies the sex appeal that has often been associated with motorcycles. He is quiet and brooding and smokes too many cigarettes, he also is not afraid to get in a fight or stand for what he believes in. 

When Benny meets Kathy, he knows exactly what he wants – which is her. Benny pursues Kathy in a way that modern times would consider stalking, but eventually she falls for him too. 

From this point on, we see Kathy narrate the events surrounding the Club, occasionally providing backstory for how the club was formed. 

This film teeters on the edge of being considered a crime drama. There are action scenes but they do not come off as unnecessary in any way. These scenes are tastefully shown as most of them pertain to fist fights and general roughhousing. 

When scenes happen that involve guns, knives or other improvised weaponry, the scenes are heavily emphasized for the danger that these items can cause. This emphasis also helps viewers see how motorcycle culture changed over the years with the involvement of more serious violence.

This film is simultaneously a love story and a story about obsession. Viewers can see how stressful it can be to love someone who has an obsession with something. Kathy, Benny and Johnny are all obsessed with something different. 

Johnny, played by Hardy, is the leader of the club and is obsessed with the club itself. Kathy is obsessed with Benny, and only wants him to live a peaceful life away from danger. Benny is obsessed with motorcycles and the culture that surrounds them, but has no interest in how the club changes over the years. Throughout the film we are shown the dangers of each of these obsessions, and how it can cause issues within a relationship such as Kathy and Benny’s. 

The film has a very slow pacing because it is set up like a documentary – not to say that it is bad, just slow. 

As previously stated, there is action but it is entirely plot relevant and comes infrequently throughout the film’s runtime. Audiences may be negatively swayed by this as they may expect an action packed story about an outlaw gang, only to be thrown into a drama that just so happens to surround a group of outlaws. 

One of the biggest positives of this film is how well they were able to portray the atmosphere of the 60s and 70s. It can come off as very nostalgic, even for those of us who were not alive to experience these times. 

This film deals with heavy topics such as death, grieving, emotional disregulation surrounding relationships and even an attempted sexual assault. A warning should go out that viewers should be mature enough to handle these themes. Other prominent themes include brotherhood and family aspects that often accompany motorcycle clubs. To quote one character from the film, “obscenity and motorcycles travel hand in hand,” so the themes of this film are very dark by default. 

This film shows us that no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop something from becoming whatever it is going to become. Marriage, motorcycle clubs, friendships – none of it is fully within our control, regardless of how much we obsess over it. We may as well just enjoy what we can, while we can, before it changes. 

Overall “The Bikeriders” is a movie that is done very well, but can come off a little too slow for some fans of the genre. If you can tolerate the pacing and enjoy good old-fashioned fist fights, bar brawls, foul mouths and historical motorcycle culture, this movie may be one that you want to see.