The Bikeriders Movie Explained: Cast, True Story & Cultural Impact

Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, and Jodie Comer in The Bikeriders (2023)

It opens with the sound of engines. Not the cinematic kind—the kind that rattles your teeth and reminds you of asphalt, oil, and something half-wild.

The Bikeriders is a film about a motorcycle gang. It’s a film about how rebellion, once romanticised, can rot.

Jeff Nichols’ 2024 drama is based loosely on Danny Lyon’s 1967 photo book.

It drops us into the Chicago-based Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictionalised stand-in for the Outlaws MC.

The film starts in 1965 and rolls through the next decade with a cigarette-hazed view of American masculinity, loyalty, and collapse.

A Story Told from the Passenger Seat

Jodie Comer’s Kathy is our anchor, narrating much of the film in retrospect to Danny Lyon (played by Mike Faist), a student-turned-documentarian.

She meets Benny (Austin Butler), a charismatic yet volatile Vandal, and marries him five weeks later. That urgency sets the tone for everything that follows.

The club’s leader Johnny (Tom Hardy) founded the Vandals after watching The Wild One.

At first, it’s about brotherhood and freedom. But by the time Vietnam veterans arrive, bringing trauma and drug use with them, the dream gets smudged.

Scenes jump between fistfights, burnouts, stolen moments of intimacy, and Kathy’s slow realisation that this isn’t just a phase—it’s a spiral.

This is not a film that builds traditionally. It ebbs and veers like a ride with no map.

By 1975, the Vandals have shifted from a tight-knit club to a violent criminal organisation. Johnny is dead. Benny’s long gone. And Kathy offers one final window into what the Vandals became.

Character-Driven, Not Plot-Obsessed

Benny (Austin Butler): Unapologetically magnetic. He doesn’t want power, but everyone keeps trying to hand it to him. His refusal to lead is its own tragic arc.
Kathy (Jodie Comer): Sharp, weary, emotionally articulate. Her narration gives the film its shape, but also its heartbreak.
Johnny (Tom Hardy): Starts idealistic. Ends broken. His downward shift from mentor to relic is one of the film’s strongest emotional pivots.
The Kid (Toby Wallace): A late-entry wildcard. He idolises Johnny but inherits only the violence.

Each character isn’t just a person—they’re a reflection of what happens when loyalty outweighs logic.

Is It a True Story?

The bones are real. Danny Lyon did embed with the Outlaws MC in the ’60s and captured their world in stark black and white. But Nichols uses that material as fuel rather than blueprint.

The names, events, and arcs are fictional, but the vibe is authentic. It feels lived-in, even when it takes artistic liberties.

Sound, Smoke, and Style

Nichols is known for texture, and The Bikeriders has plenty. The camera lingers on patches, scars, burns. The dialogue isn’t always clean or punchy.

It sprawls, like bar talk. The film is scored by David Wingo with a soundscape that alternates between moody ambience and vintage Americana. It doesn’t scream for attention—it murmurs in your ear.

What the Film Is Really About

The Bikeriders is a story of men building a world because they couldn’t find one they fit into.

And then breaking it. It’s about the illusion of control, the magnetism of chaos, and the women who are left watching the fire from the roadside.

It’s also a film about storytelling itself. Kathy recounts events with emotional distance and reflection. Some moments feel softened, others sharpened.

Trying to make sense of the senseless. Her narration isn’t just informative; it raises questions. Who gets to tell the story? And who gets to survive it?

Reception and Legacy (So Far)

Released after delays caused by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, The Bikeriders pulled in $36 million worldwide.

Reviews were split between admiration for its atmosphere and frustration with its pacing. Some expected Sons of Anarchy. What they got was more elegy than epic.

But here in 2025, the film is finding second life on streaming platforms.

Younger viewers are discovering it not through marketing but through moodboards, playlists, and TikToks labelled #bikercore. In a way, the Vandals have outlived themselves—digitally.

Where to Watch The Bikeriders in 2025

Available on major digital platforms as of 2025, including Prime Video and Apple TV in select regions.

Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes and commentary from Nichols and Lyon.

The Bikeriders is a 2024 crime drama inspired by the real-life photo book by Danny Lyon, following the rise and fall of a fictional motorcycle gang called the Vandals, portrayed by an ensemble cast including Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, and Jodie Comer.