The Bikeriders

Nichols shows us that even when it all goes sour, the excitement of this ridiculous and aggressive world is catnip to the born outsider.

Most contemporary westerns end up mourning a vanished era of compromised freedom. The Bikeriders doesn’t quite believe in that myth, but it still finds time to dampen a handkerchief as its shadow recedes. A flawed, fascinating film.

It’s the other elements – plot, storytelling, script, emotional connections, engaging the viewer – that fall off the bike.

It’s Comer who anchors the film... It’s a performance that confirms her place as one of the most compelling actors around, but it belongs in a better picture.

The Jeff Nichols drama starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy starts with much promise but too often allows its individuality to be subsumed into homage.

The Bikeriders displays the cost of noninterventionist direction, of sticking to source material with a self-inhibiting fidelity. These characters are still in search of their auteur.

In terms of narrative structure, The Bikeriders can essentially be summed up as “Goodfellas if it were from Karen’s point of view.”

A fascinating and visually captivating exploration of life on the margins of society. [Full review in Spanish]

Everything in the story points to a nostalgic tribute, a sort of twilight requiem, to a culture of motorized social outcasts now in decline. [Full review in Spanish]

...Nichols has made the equivalent of Goodfellas (1990) with the sound of engines and the smell of gasoline, accompanied by a constant stream of good rock and roll. [Full review in Spanish]