Set in the 1960s, it follows the rise of the Vandals MC, a Chicago outlaw motorcycle club. Seen through the lives of its members and their families, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a surrogate family for local outcasts into violent organized crime, threatening the original founder’s unique vision and way of life.

Writer/director Jeff Nichols has built an impressive list of credits with his stories that have captured a classic Americana feel, and now, with his sixth feature film, The Bikeriders, he adapts the true story of an Outlaw Motorcycle club to the big screen and how time and circumstance change its members as they search for desperate freedom. Based on the true story that acclaimed photojournalist Danny Lyon captured in his seminal work of the same name, The Bikeriders is a film that roars with attitude and aggression and places his audiences right in the centre of a ragtag club of outlaws who are determined to find their own sense of freedom. It’s a film that pulsates with a quintessential cool, and it is without a doubt one of the most stylish and raw pictures you’ll watch all year.

For Nichols, The Bikeriders has been his dream project that he has held onto for twenty years, and now, finally, he gets to bring this incredible world and its one-of-a-kind characters to the big screen. A passion in the truest sense of the word, Nichols brings an incredible sense of intimacy and understanding of this narrative and its players, and the result is a picture that is shaped by a director’s true vision and a desire to capture this outsider world properly. Adapting a non-linear narrative that moves back and forth between 1965 and 1973, Nichols draws on the distinctive viewpoint of Jodie Comer’s Kathy through the lens and eye of photojournalist Danny Lyons (Mike Faist). It’s through this unique perspective that audiences come to meet the Vandals MC, and their quest to ride the open road on their terms. Nichols crafts a film that is an intimate character study and an observation of a uniquely American subculture.

While The Bikeriders may be a picture of pure American masculinity and the rebels who make up the ranks of the 1%ers, its framing through a woman’s viewpoint leads to an incredibly nuanced and introspective story. Stepping into the role of Illinois native Kathy is English actress Jodie Comer, and she proves again why she is one of the most in-demand talents around. With her beehive hairdo, Chicago drawl and take-no-shit attitude, Kathy is our narrator to the events of this picture and sees a gathering of outcasts turn into something more sinister. Comer holds nothing back in her performance as Kathy, wife to the wayward and mysterious Benny (Austin Butler), who comes into conflict with the world of the Vandals and its commanding leader, Johnny (Tom Hardy). Comer uniquely captures the love/hate aspect of Kathy’s life in accordance with the Vandals, and her perspective on this story makes for an intriguing look at a captivating outsider world.

Playing opposite Comer is Austin Butler as Benny, a member of the Vandals MC and Kathy’s rogue husband, who is an outlaw biker through and through. Butler has proven that he’s a true acting chameleon with his performances, and here he is incredibly reserved and quiet. There’s an air of mystery and danger to Benny, and he’s hypnotic as this almost unknowable, beautiful rogue. Clad in denim and with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Benny is the bad boy of every woman’s fantasy, and he’s a damn flawless specimen as his glowing muscles flex while he nurses a bourbon in his hand. It’s easy to see why Benny is the object of desire for both Kathy and Johnny, but there’s also something sad about his hellion ways, for he might be a rebel without a cause, but there’s no knowing what he’s rebelling against.

The Bikeriders is brought full circle by Tom Hardy’s Johnny, the founder and leader of the Vandals, and he’s a commanding presence as this stoic and world-weary outlaw. Hardy’s performance as Johnny is powerful as he embodies both the stoic blue-collar truck driver by day and the dangerous leader of the Vandals by night. His character, Johnny, is like a commanding general but also weary of the challenges around him, realizing that he cannot forever live the life of an outlaw. His dynamic with Kathy and their conflicts over the future of the Vandals, especially Benny’s role, adds depth to the storyline. This role truly demonstrates Hardy’s talent, solidifying his position as one of the great actors of our generation.

The movie features outstanding performances, including Michael Shannon as Zipco, Boyd Holbrook as Cal, Damon Herriman as Brucie, Mike Faist as Danny Lyon, and Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny. Faist portrays real-life journalist Danny Lyon, a young reporter observing the outsiders and who documents the story of a group of men striving to find their place. Characters like Michael Shannon’s Zipco and Norman Reedus’ Funny Sonny are depicted as outcasts who don’t fit in with society and resort to mayhem, drinking, and violence. Their performances vividly bring to life these classic outlaw American characters.

However, the irony lies in the fact that their failure to belong in society has led them to the world of the Vandals, a place with stricter rules than the constitution. This paradox forms the core of the theme of belonging in the movie and Nichols’ exploration of it. Nichols delves deeply into the theme of belonging and acceptance, which forms the heart of the narrative’s impact.

The Bikeriders is a film that was meant for the big screen, and it’s truly a mesmerizing sight. The cinematography by Adam Stone and the gripping soundtrack of classic blues and rock tunes from the mid-1960s capture the grit, grime, and texture of these bar-hopping outcasts. Everything is captured on camera, making the experience of The Bikeriders feel all the more authentic. It portrays a classic kind of American masculinity, filled with aggression and violence, but also a hard-fought sense of honour, even if it’s a flawed kind. This film evokes an immediate kind of feeling, and I believe that those who were fortunate enough to see it on the big screen will be able to look back in twenty years and say they witnessed something truly special.

The Bikeriders is a powerful portrayal of a American subculture, capturing a unique time and place with swagger and attitude. This cinematic experience speaks to primal instincts and celebrates fearless freedom, and its story solidifies the idea that genuine freedom belongs to the fearless.

Image: Universal Pictures

The post ‘The Bikeriders’ – Review appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Watch the all-new trailer for The Bikeriders below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Set in the 1960s, it follows the rise of the Vandals MC, a Chicago outlaw motorcycle club. Seen through the lives of its members and their families, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a surrogate family for local outcasts into violent organized crime, threatening the original founder’s unique vision and way of life.

This new trailer builds on the intensity and atmosphere of the previous trailer and throws audiences straight into the violence and escalation that surrounds the Vandals MC, an Outlaw Motorcycle club in mid-1960s Chicago, as its members find themselves in the midst of a dangerous and escalating war of criminality.

The Bikeriders has long been the passion project of Nichols (Loving, Midnight Special, Mud), and he’s laboured on it for more than a decade as he’s wanted to bring to life the wild times of celebrated photojournalist Danny Lyons (played in the film by rising star Mike Faist) to the big screen.

And damn, has he succeeded with audiences initially describing the picture as ‘Goodfellas with motorcycles’ and with the dual presence of Comer and Butler as grungy star-crossed lovers Cathy and Benny, and the intimidating gravitas of Hardy as Vandals MC President Johnny, you can bet that The Bikeriders is going to be a wild watch.

 

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Brace yourself for one wild ride when The Bikeriders arrives in cinemas on July 4.

The post Freedom comes with a price in latest trailer for ‘The Bikeriders’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.

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

The post Freedom belongs to the fearless in Jeff Nichol’s ‘The Bikeriders’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Watch the brand-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.

Adapted from the seminal photo book by journalist Danny Lyon, which charted the rise of the Outlaws MC in Chicago during the 1960s, The Bikeriders follows the rise of the Vandals, a mid-western motorcycle club that starts off as a collection point for a group of outsider bike lovers which soon turns into a dark and sister force. At its heart this is a story of three people Kathy (Comer), Benny (Butler) and Johnny (Hardy), and The Bikeriders is set to be an intense and dramatic watch for audiences.

With The Rolling Stones thumping rock track ‘Heartbreaker’ at its centre, this new trailer for The Bikeriders explodes like a Harley-Davidson running at 200 miles an hour. And it promises a hell of a watch. With Jodie Comer’s Kathy as the film’s narrator, Nichols crafts a film that is masculine and brutal in its narrative structure, and he plays off the brotherhood that is shared between Austin Butler’s Benny and Tom Hardy’s Johnny.

Butler is the rebel heartthrob with his James Dean bad boy swagger down cold as Johnny, and which draws him to Comer’s lost and impressionable Kathy. Benny is quick to anger and up for a scrap, and his focus is directed by the calculating, and intimidating leader of the Vandals, Johnny. Tom Hardy taps into his inner Brando for his role as Johnny, and he soon begins to take the club in a darker, more criminal direction that could spell doom for all of them.

Nichols is a filmmaker who, time and time again, with works like Mud, Midnight Special and Loving, has shown that he can craft amazing American hinterland drama, and The Bikeriders is a tale of the classic Americana outlaw spirit. There’s a cowboy edge to this picture, and it will end up being a wild ride for audiences.

Brace yourself for a rush when The Bikeriders arrives in cinemas on December 2.

Image: 20th Century Studios

The post The outlaw spirit beckons in ‘The Bikeriders’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.