Only mildly interesting and aimless
Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to speed away on a motorcycle. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 is too short and 101 is excessive). Here is his 100-word review of The Bikeriders.
The Premise: Based on a photo book published in 1967, this
film tracks the rise and fall of the Vandals, a suburban Chicago biker gang.
The Vandals are led by Johnny (Tom Hardy) with Benny (Austin Butler, Elvis) as
his brooding right hand man. Much of the story is told by Benny’s girlfriend/wife,
Kathy (Jodie Comer, Killing Eve and Free Guy). What starts out as a bunch of
friends who just want to ride together gradually becomes a violent gang
unafraid of police and willing to do anything to get what they want. The film
is written and directed by indy filmmaker Jeff Nichols (Mud, Loving) and also stars
Michael Shannon, Mike Faist (Challengers), and Norman Reedus (The Walking
Dead).
The 100-words:
Magnetic actors who are incredibly compelling to watch –
check.
Gorgeous photography of bikes and the countryside – check.
Compelling story that has a point – bzzzzzz.
I really wanted to like this film but I never connected with
why we were being told about this biker gang and what lessons there were to
take from the story. Comer is doing the best upper Midwest accent since Fargo
but I never understood her connection to the gang other than “Benny looks gorgeous,”
Hardy rarely has a meaningful message in his mumbled lines, and Butler rarely
speaks. So much potential, so little finished product.
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