Biker Gang Movie With A-List Cast Is Borderline Unwatchable Garbage
"The Bikeriders" is a horrible film, and I'd like to be compensated for my wasted time.
The highly-anticipated film with Tom Hardy and Austin Butler was praised by critics and viewers when it initially dropped in late June.
It currently holds an 80% rating from critics and 75% rating from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes. That's incredibly impressive.
After not being able to catch it in theaters, I was juiced up when it was released a few days ago on Peacock. After all, a film about a biker gang inspired by true events from the 1960s seemed right up my alley.
"The Bikeriders" is terrible.
The trailers were epic, and it looked like "The Bikeriders" would be a more serious and authentic version of "Sons of Anarchy" - a legendary FX show about a biker gang.
After all, how could "The Bikeriders" not be great? It features a loaded cast, takes place in the past and people love stories about outlaws.
Little did I know what awaited me.
I ended up turning the film off halfway through. I could tell I was in trouble about 10 minutes in, but I kept giving it a shot because I believed it would get better.
It doesn't. Not even close. The story follows the Vandals Motorcycle Club with Johnny (Hardy), Benny (Butler) and the latter's wife Kathy (Jodie Cromer) being the main focus.
The rest of the cast is rounded out by Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman and Norman Reedus. If I showed you that cast on paper and the plot details, you'd think the movie was going to be electric.
You'd be wrong. It's over-acted, insanely boring and I felt like I needed a translator to hear half the words that were coming out of Hardy's mouth.
The worst part is that the first hour drags on so slowly that you have to wonder what the entire point of the movie is. There's two less-than-exciting fight scenes and then Benny steals Kathy from her boyfriend.
I just summed up half the movie for you in one sentence. I seriously want someone responsible for this movie to get on the phone with me and apologize for the hour I wasted.
The most disappointing part is that Butler has been riding a wave of incredible momentum. He's fresh off "Dune 2" and "Masters of the Air" following "Elvis" and has several other major projects lined up.
I'm sure when he took the job he thought "The Bikeriders" would be awesome for all the reasons laid out above involving the plot and cast. Instead of adding another hit to his lineup, it was a complete dud.
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The Bikeriders is an incredibly disappointing movie. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
If you were waiting to catch this movie on streaming, I suggest watching just about anything else. Don't make the same mistake I did and waste your time. It's simply not worth it. Let me know what you thought at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.