JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: The Bikeriders

 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.

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans

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