Re: The Big Book Of Biker Flicks
Sofie Kovalcheck
If vintage 1980s cheese is your thing, check out the 1986 movie Eye of the Tiger. It stars a pre-messed up Gary Busey (back when he was coherent) as a Vietnam veteran who returns home to his small town only to find it overrun by a violent biker gang. Taking matters into his own hands, Gary Busey sets about cleaning up the town he loves and driving the bikers away. Co-starring character actors Yaphet Kotto (Alien, Midnight Run) and Seymour Cassel (Rushmore, Beer League) this movie is basically First Blood but with outlaw bikers instead of corrupt police officers. Nevertheless, there are plenty of motorcycle chases and 1980s style action (complete with flying kicks and WWF suplexes) to keep this movie interesting. Plus, kudos for taking the title from the theme song to Rocky III by the band Survivor.
A documentary film, On Any Sunday was released in 1971 and is narrated by none other than motorcycle enthusiast and racing legend Steve McQueen, who is featured racing bikes in the film. This documentary is pretty straightforward and is about the then fast-growing sport of motorcycle racing that was riding a wave of popularity across the country in the early 1970s. Nominated for the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, On Any Sunday is a well-filmed and well-crafted documentary that features plenty of fast motorcycle racing, as well as jumps and dirt bikes. Widely credited as the best documentary ever made about motorcycle racing, this movie was a personal favorite of noted film critic Roger Ebert who claimed that the film did for motorcycles what the documentary Endless Summer did for surfing.
The FX series Sons of Anarchy ended in 2014 and set the template for what the best biker movies should look like. Those who love motorcycles as a whole might also be yearning for feature films that portray the love for bikes or the madness surrounding them. Some of the best biker movies have been made over the past few years, shooting up in popularity due to Sons of Anarchy. From movies that share the love of motorcycles to those that add the criminal aspects, there are plenty to choose from.
Biker Boyz is a 2003 sports movie set in the world of underground motorcycle racing. In many ways, the movie simply feels like an attempt for the studio to cash in on the success of The Fast and the Furious from a couple of years prior. However, even if it doesn't feel very original, it is a fun ride with a stellar cast. The movie tells the story of underground biker drag racers and the rivalry between an iconic racer and a young prodigy who started his own biker club.
Much like Sons of Anarchy, this movie takes the bikes as seriously as the cast itself. However, it is a different type of motorcycle being used with the movie focusing on the flashy and fast racing bikes that make for some exciting race sequences. The cast is top-notch, with Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Honsou, Lisa Bonet, Meagan Good, Terrence Howard, and even Kid Rock.
Fans of Sons of Anarchy who wondered what it would look like if Charlie Sheen was a biker should watch the 1993 movie Beyond the Law. Sheen stars as an undercover cop named Dan Saxon who joins a group of outlaw bikers to stop a drug-smuggling and arms-dealing operation. However, to get as deep as possible, he has to commit more dangerous crimes, pushing him to the edge and almost resulting in no way back.
While the movie might sound like another ripoff of Point Break, it is actually an interesting thriller about the moral complexity of being an undercover agent, not wanting to have his cover blown but also wondering how far from the law he is able to stray. The biker culture in the movie is also interesting as they are seen as rather ruthless criminals but a world in which Sheen's Dan finds himself fitting in.
In 2004, Ice Cube starred in his own biker movie with Torque, a film directed by long-time music video director Joseph Kahn. In the movie, Martin Henderson is Cary Ford, a biker who finds some motorcycles filled with crystal meth, so he stows them away. However, a gangster (played by Matt Schulze) wants them back so he frames Cary for the murder of the brother of a biker game leader named Trey (Ice Cube), who sets out to get revenge.
The movie shares a lot in common with the stories told in Sons of Anarchy, especially the criminal elements and the movement into the illegal drug trade. Interestingly, this is another movie that seems to have been released in the hopes of making the next Fast & Furious franchise, but that was not what Kahn had in mind. He insists his original edit was a lot more satirical which makes for a somewhat awkward tone yet an interesting movie nonetheless.
Peter Fonda is one of the quintessential actors of the biker movie genre, and while this is not his best entry, it predated the classic Easy Rider. The Wild Angels has a close-knit motorcycle gang called Heavenly Blues at its center that comes together when one of their own has his motorcycle stolen. Fonda stars as the gang leader who gets everyone to go on a mission to find the bike and get revenge on the thieves.
The movie is directed by Roger Corman but is elevated beyond the typical low-budget action movie. There are several fights between motorcycle gangs and run-ins with the police on motorcycles that are a lot of fun. The Wild Angelsshares something in common with Sons of Anarchy, as both had real members of Hells Angels involved in the cast while it is also a tale about the brotherhood and loyalty among these gangs.
Run, Angel, Run! follows an outlaw biker (William Smith) who tries to leave his biker gang with his partner (Valerie Starrett) but the gang decides to chase after them and try to force him back into their ranks instead of letting them go freely. It turns into a cat-and-mouse chase as the ex-outlaw biker and his partner try to outrun the motorcycle gang members who were once his closest brothers.
Coming out the same year as Easy Rider, Run, Angel, Run! had much less of a cultural impact, though it was a success, with a budget of only $96,000 but a box office take of $13 million. The movie is also a much different take on the genre, going for a pulpy and fun ride. Like Sons of Anarchy, it is a project that shows how both good guys and bad guys exist in the biker world.
Although Road to Paloma isn't about motorcycle gangs, it does feature a lone biker on a mission and on the run from the law. Jason Momoa stars as Robert Wolf who gets revenge by killing the man who raped and murdered his mother. Wolf goes on the run after and flees the law hoping to be able to spread his mother's ashes. He goes on a long bike ride searching for his sister's property to spread the ashes while also avoiding the law.
Angel Unchained has a somewhat similar plot to Run, Angel, Run! where the main character decides he wants to leave his biker gang. In Angel Unchained the main character, Angel, joins a commune to live a simpler and more peaceful life other than the gang. Though the gang doesn't hunt him, a new group of cowboys decides to harass the commune and Angel has to fight back.
The film might not be as well known as Easy Rider and The Wild Angels, but the idea of a man wanting to escape his past is one that Sons of Anarchy fans should enjoy. The movie has an interesting approach as it feels like a Western movie, similar to Shane or The Magnificent Seven, adapted for the biker movie genre. It makes for a fun action flick that shows the bikers as more heroic.
Hell's Belles is another movie that centers on a revenge plot after a bike is stolen, like The Wild Angels. Dan (Jeremy Slate) wins a new motorcycle and plans to sell it so he can have enough money to buy a ranch, but it's stolen by a man. Dan decides to hunt down the new owner of the bike, Tampa (Adam Roarke), and his partner Cathy (Jocelyn Lane) joins him in the violent revenge story.
This is more of an exploitation movie than a tale like Sons of Anarchy but the idea of a man fighting a biker gang plays well with the popular TV show. It is a simple story that brings audiences along on this road trip revenge movie with some fun characters. As a bonus for Sons of Anarchy fans, William Lucking who played Piney on the series, appears in Hell's Belles in his feature film debut.
Easy Rider follows two bikers named Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Wyatt (Peter Fonda) as they ride from Los Angeles to New Orleans to find clients and discover more of America. Dennis Hopper also directed the film and brought Jack Nicholson on board as he plays a free-spirited attorney whom the bikers bond with along the way. This is a role that is also credited for changing Jack Nicholson's career trajectory, plucking him from B-list status into the A-list. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Aside from Nicholson's standout performance, Easy Rider is one of the most influential movies of all time. It was seen as a subversive and eye-opening look at a new filmmaking culture that gave way to the New Hollywood movement and the rise of auteur directors. The indie ended up being a surprise box office hit, making it one of the most profitable movies of all time.
There is also a biker movie in the realm of superhero entertainment. Before getting the rights to Ghost Rider back, Marvel licensed out the property to Sony and the company released two Ghost Rider movies, with the first gaining more appreciation than the sequel. In the movie, Nicolas Cage starred as Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman who learns his mentor is dying and makes a deal with the devil to save his life. This devil, Mephisto, delivers his promise but with a twist, and soon Blaze has to repay the debt when he becomes the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider.
While a more forgettable superhero movie than some of the genre's other entries at the time, it's still an entertaining time and it is a lot of fun to see the character brought to the big screen with Cage's wild performance. There is also a fun bit of biker movie casting with Peter Fonda as Mephisto. The character remains popular with many fans hoping Johnny Blaze aka Ghost Rider appears in the MCU before long.
7fc3f7cf58