Freedom belongs to the fearless in Jeff Nichol’s ‘The Bikeriders’
“Some people would rather crash…than slow down.”
The rebel spirit throttles up in the all-new trailer for Jeff Nichol’s The Bikeriders, which adapts photojournalist Danny Lyon’s seminal book of the same name and explores the rise of an outlaw motorcycle club in the mid-1960s and the fury that comes with it.
Watch the all-new trailer for The Bikeriders here:
Here’s the official synopsis:
Kathy (Jodie Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who is married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Austin Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Tom Hardy).
Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
Building off of the first trailer that was released last year and declaring a new release date for June of this year, The Bikeriders is filled with masculine aggression that will kick audiences in the face as its band of outlaws takes to the road to life on their terms. With a solid cast including the likes of Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, The Bikeriders is a heavyweight film in the making, and its drama will hit hard.
This new trailer sheds light on the film’s club, the Vandals MC, and their origin as a meeting place for a group of motorcycle-riding outcasts to their turn to a burgeoning criminal enterprise, and it sure is going to be an emotional watch. Austin Butler again shows his range as young outlaw Benny, who is a straight-up rebel without a cause, and Butler is channelling a James Dean style in his portrayal. Juxtaposed to him is Jodie Comer as his lover and eventual wife Cathy, who falls for his bad boy swagger but soon falls victim to the cost of the club and the MC lifestyle and will do anything to help the two of them escape.
Central to the film’s narrative is the great Tom Hardy as the Vandals MC leader Johnny, who makes a hell of a transformative from a free-wheeling motorcycle rider to a hardened gangster and who commits 110% to the role. Hardy has a real Brando feel about him as Johnny, and he is sure is a wild one as he goes to extremes to prove his tough guy persona. And it ain’t gonna end pretty. Key to the narrative is the relationship shared between these three characters, and it’s sure to lead to plenty of dramatic tension.
There’s a host of fantastic new footage in this trailer, and set to the roaring soundtrack of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)’, the energy is taken to a new height. One of the coolest moments of the trailer is when Benny, having been beaten to an inch of his life, is assisted by Johnny and the rest of the Vandals, who roll up on their intimidating horde and make good on their threat. It’s a hell of a shot and primes the audience for what will come next.
Get ready for a wild ride when The Bikeriders arrives in cinemas on July 4.
Image: Universal Pictures
