{"id":35584,"date":"2023-09-01T23:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T23:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/01\/the-bikeriders-early-review-austin-butler-showcases-star-power\/"},"modified":"2023-09-01T23:00:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T23:00:13","slug":"the-bikeriders-early-review-austin-butler-showcases-star-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/01\/the-bikeriders-early-review-austin-butler-showcases-star-power\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Bikeriders’ Early Review: Austin Butler Showcases Star Power"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Austin Butler as \u201cBenny\u201d in \u2018The Bikeriders\u2019.<\/span> Kyle Kaplan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3 stars (out of 4)<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an underrated trait of a legit movie star: The ability to exude cool charisma<\/a> just by silently sitting on a barstool and taking a drag from a cigarette.<\/p>\n

This is how Austin Butler<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s character, Benny, is introduced in the first moment of The Bikeriders<\/em>. He\u2019s quietly minding his own business when two burly men approach him and demand that he remove his well-worn denim-and-black leather jacket emblazoned with the words Vandals Chicago. \u201cYou\u2019d have to kill me before I take off this jacket,\u201d he replies with the slightest bit of a smirk. Violence erupts as Benny tries with all his might to keep his vow.<\/p>\n

Who is this guy and what could possibly stoke such unhinged emotions? Welcome to The Bikeriders,<\/em> which held its world premiere on Thursday, August 31, at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival. Despite its serene title, the film is a fierce drama chronicling the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Austin Butler Through the Years: His Road to \u2018Elvis\u2019<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tHollywood heartthrob! Austin Butler has come a long way since his Nickelodeon days in the early 2000s \u2014 and fans are taking notice. The California native broke into the entertainment industry in 2005 and instantly became a staple on the kids\u2019 network with roles on both Ned\u2019s Declassified School Survival Guide and Zoey 101. As [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The club is called The Vandals. And as one might surmise from that riveting prologue, its colorful members \u2014 led by the short-fused Johnny (Tom Hardy<\/strong><\/a>) \u2014 are devoutly loyal and not to be trifled with.<\/p>\n

In an amusing montage, we meet Cal (Boyd Holbrook<\/strong>), Michael Shannon<\/strong>), Zipco (Michael Shannon<\/strong>) and Cockroach (Emery Cohen<\/strong>). And then there\u2019s Benny, the most stoic and dangerous rider of all. When Kathy (Jodie Comer<\/strong><\/a>), a tough-talking comely local, meets him in a dive bar, she goes against every impulse and lets him take her for a literal ride. She\u2019s fascinated. Horrified. And instantly smitten.<\/p>\n

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\n Austin Butler<\/span> Taylor Hill\/FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bikeriders<\/em> is mostly told from Kathy\u2019s perspective as she recounts the club\u2019s story to a photographer (Mike Faist<\/strong><\/a>) compiling a book about the group. (Sorry to say the British Comer does the aforementioned recounting in a distractingly affected Chicaaaahhhgo dialect.)<\/p>\n

Kathy ends up marrying Benny after just five weeks. Over the next decade, she attempts to navigate both his reckless behavior and his blind allegiance to his mentor Johnny as The Vandals evolve from endearing outsiders to a more sinister gang. She ultimately wants domestication and a move to Florida to escape the madness. If only Johnny weren\u2019t so hell-bent on rallying his troupe to enact revenge on anyone who dares disrespect him.<\/p>\n

And so it goes. To be sure, The Bikeriders<\/em> is more of an atmospheric vibe than an edge-of-your-motorcycle-seat thrill ride. Writer-director Jeff Nichols<\/strong> (Loving, Mud, Midnight Special<\/em>) throws his focus on immersion so the audience can soak in the rich look, feel and sounds of the subculture of 1960s motorcycle riders down to the smell of the burning rubber emanating from those engines. The stylistic choice is admirable \u2014 some film buffs will no doubt compare the moody storytelling to classic outlaw Westerns \u2014 albeit mostly frustrating.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Stars Who Have Never Won an Oscar<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThey may be seasoned actors with a slew of Academy Award nominations, but these well-known, often-acclaimed stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, have actually never won an Oscar\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s understood that The Vandals adhere to codes and honor and decorum and unwritten laws, etc. etc., but the club\u2019s expansion beyond Chicago still shouldn\u2019t be such a heavy plot point. For all that easy riding on the open road, the narrative never quite travels in a totally satisfying direction.<\/p>\n

But Comer\u2019s character won\u2019t be the only one transfixed by her surroundings. There\u2019s something ridiculously appealing about watching all these rugged actors show off such alpha-male machismo \u2014 they did their own riding, per the studio press notes \u2014 and, in a few surprising instances, bare their sensitive souls. (Everyone associated with the Fast and the Furious<\/em><\/a> saga should take note on how to pull off this feat!) The ensemble meshes so well together that no one 100 percent stands out from the pack, let alone earns enough meaty screen time to merit serious awards consideration. That says a lot given all the Oscar-nominated talent<\/a> on-hand.<\/p>\n

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