Hit the road with Tom Hardy and an all-star supporting cast in the atmospheric drama The Bikeriders. Hardy plays the de facto leader of a fictional Chicago biker gang whose codes of loyalty are cemented by the throaty roar of a Chopper's tailpipe.
This denim-attired, no-nonsense road movie occupies a pivotal moment in American history when Hell's Angels biker gangs tore up the freeways and dive bars, causing chaos wherever they went. Despite the lasting reputation of these gangs, the film taps into a residual, quintessentially All-American nostalgia, acting as a salute to the open road and the spirit of rebellion.
Director Jeff Nichols, acclaimed for indie dramas Mud (2013) and Loving (2016), takes his visual cue from Danny Lyons' 1968 photo journal The Bikeriders and assembles an all-star cast including Dune: Part Two's Austin Butler, Challengers' Mike Faist (playing a fictionalised version of Lyons) and The Last Duel's Jodie Comer who acts as the film's narrator.
The film, originally scheduled for release in 2023, has gathered strong reviews and we've assembled some of them here. Read them and be incentivised to watch The Bikeriders on the big screen at Cineworld.
The acting is superb
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter: "What resonates beyond the brawls and blood is a profound affection for the people onscreen — those grace notes provided by a fine cast, with Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy stirring undercurrents that are particularly affecting precisely because they’re never explicitly examined or explained."
Jodie Comer steals the show
Peter Debruge, Variety: "Best known as the ruthless assassin she plays in Killing Eve, Comer could hardly have found a more different role than this to display her range. Seen primarily on her porch — looking like one of those disheveled sisters in David O. Russell’s The Fighter, while sounding more like Frances McDormand in Fargo — Kathy and the seemingly hopeless marriage she’s gotten herself into serve as the beating heart and backbone for The Bikeriders, which traces the Vandals’ evolution from the mid-’60s to the early ’70s, after which the gang took a turn for the worse."
It's a strong evocation of late-sixties counter-culture
Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal: "[It's] the finest movie about motorcycle culture I’ve ever seen. Told with gusto à la Goodfellas, this richly evocative look at how a 1960s Midwestern biker club turned into a gang establishes Elvis Oscar nominee Austin Butler as a major movie star."
There's a real sweep to the story
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: "This film opens up the storytelling throttle with a throaty growl, delivering the doomy romance of an old-fashioned western and the thrills of a mob drama... The performances here aren’t subtle exactly: with Comer’s fierce twang, Butler’s soft purr and Hardy’s sibilant Brandoesque drawl. But there’s such enormous potency and impact in everything they do onscreen."
Jeff Nichols directs with flair
Beth Webb, Empire: "It is... an exquisitely shot film, bathed in sun-baked hues. Nichols’ long-standing cinematographer Adam Stone largely studies The Vandals’ convoy from a distance, occasionally adopting a documentary-style approach... There is at least plenty to admire through the handsome quality of filmmaking, and this is a slick showcase of Butler’s burgeoning star power."
Are you ready to ride along with Tom Hardy and the gang? Then click the link below to book your tickets for The Bikeriders. It opens at Cineworld on June 21st.
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