Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
After a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy is drawn to Benny, member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.
The Bikeriders boasts strong period atmosphere and exceptional ensemble acting—Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and Tom Hardy all deliver standout performances—and Jeff Nichols shoots the film with striking, evocative cinematography that captures the gritty beauty of 1960s-70s Midwest biker culture. The interview-framing device (drawn from Danny Lyon's photo-journalism) gives it a distinctive structure, though the episodic, vignette-driven plot can feel meandering and underdeveloped in its second half. The ending is particularly anticlimactic, fading out without strong dramatic resolution as the club simply dissolves into irrelevance—fitting thematically but unsatisfying as a narrative payoff.