Movies
“The Bikeriders” Trailer Reaction
Let’s get out in front of this. Austin Butler is one sexy mother fucker, and the James Dean persona he is bringing to The Bikeriders (2023) is not fair to the rest of the male population.
“It follows the rise of a Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members”
Director: Jeff Nichols
Writer: Jeff Nichols
Staring: Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook
Release Date: December 1, 2023
IMDB
Let’s get out in front of this. Austin Butler is one sexy mother fucker, and the James Dean persona he is bringing to The Bikeriders (2023) is not fair to the rest of the male population.
Now we can get into the actual movie.
The Bikeriders is a crime drama written and directed by Jeff Nichols. The story follows the evolution of a motorcycle club through the lens of a few of its key members.
Tom Hardy plays Johnny, the creator and leader of “The Vandals” of Chicago. He has created a community that he calls family, and one of the members of his tribe is his symbolically adopted son Benny (Austin Butler). The young whipper-snapper has a short-haired temper laced with undying loyalty to the Vandals gang.
The story is framed through the prism of Kathy (Jodie Comer), a young woman who gets seduced by Benny and the life of a biker. In the trailer we see Kathy sitting down with Danny (Mike Faist), a reporter who seems to be chronicling the story of the “Vandals”, their founder Johnny, and the heir apparent, Benny.
With all the cards out on the table, I gotta say that The Bikeriders looks like a fucking outstanding movie. For one, the cast is outrageous.
Tom Hardy, the one-time Oscar nominee, oozes screen presence whomever he portrays. This time Hardy isn’t playing a muted or alien-possessed man. This time around Hardy is playing the man he seems so fit to play; a grizzled loner in charge of a make-shift family who doesn’t relish in the power but knows he is good at it. The casting here is perfect. The broad shoulders on the bike and the quiet way in which he dictates the next steps.
Alright. Let’s get to Butler. This man is pressing the gas pedal on his career and he shows no signs of slowing down. In 2019 Butler appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019). Three years later he was nominated for an Oscar for Elvis (2022). The Bikeriders comes out this December, and then three months later he will be part of 2024’s biggest science fiction epic Dune: Part Two (2024) as the eccentric and utterly memorable Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Can you imagine if Butler had Dune: Part Two this November…followed immediately by The Bikeriders? It would have been Butler overload, but nobody would have given a damn.
The tripod base of the movie is completed with Jodie Cromer. The Killing Eve star gave an Oscar worthy performance in The Last Duel (2021) as a POV character, so let’s see if she can get over the nomination hump with this Nichols written part. Personally speaking, I love Cromer and I want the best for her forever and always. The key to making the part of Kathy float above the rest is to make her an individual character herself. Take cues from Lorraine Broacco in Goodfellas (1990) and her character of Karen. She has iconic moments and takes hold of the gun at times. I see Cromer taking the same approach.
Among Hardy, Butler and Cromer are a bunch of other fantastic actors. Michael Shannon is back for his fifth collaboration with Jeff Nichols. The two appear to be thick as thieves. Mike Faist, Norman Reedus and Boyd Holbrook (perfect casting, no matter his role, he just looks it) are also part of this rated R road trip.
The only other Nichols movie that I have seen is Mud (2012), which I remember being an excellent and heartbreaking surprise when I watched it in college. My roommate at the time even bought me the movie for Christmas or birthday at that point.
Will I get to the other films Nichols has made before The Bikeriders? Probably not, but you can be sure that I will be making an effort to see this motorcycle coming of age drama the first chance I get.
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