The Bikeriders: So I was intrigued with this film when I saw that the cast included Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon and Jodie Comer was being promoted. It is an impressive cast with Hardy, who has done some laudable work although recently nothing memorable (no I can’t say that Venom is something to be proud), but also Austin Butler as Elvis and Comer who was outstanding in Killing Eve. The plot seemed to be a mixture of Sons of Anarchy and Good Fellas. I was hoping for the best.

The plot focuses in a real biker club that happened back in the 1970s in the Midwest. Tom Hardy started as a guy who liked his motorcycle and gathered up some friends to have a motorcycle racing club. He called them the The Vandals of Chicago. They grew in numbers. But I am getting ahead of myself, because the story starts well into the history with the Austin Butler character in a bar and refusing to take off his “colours” (the bike jacket). He was already a member, and he was already married. There is a voiceover where his wife, played by Jodie Comer explains that he was a fiery, independent man who was very loyal to a fault. She talks through her romance with him and her being part of this gang of riders. As it grows it gains members who are not too loyal to the leadership of Hardy nor to its principles.

The story carries on but for me it was a weak effort. I wouldn’t think that succession of the leader is an important as one might think. I also wouldn’t think that Comer who, knowing fully what she was get into, would be so surprised at how things end up turning out for her. The same could be said for Hardy, who mumbles through mostly of his lines, and doesn’t really show himself to be full of leadership material. But maybe that’s the point – from a guy who who came from humble wants and beginnings to leading a very large multiple city gang. In the end I feel as though this was an opportunity missed. This cast deserved a better story with people who were more than typecast thugs.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1: Kevin Costner won the Oscar for directing back in 1990 with Dances with Wolves. It seems like he enjoys spending more time on horses and in nature. The success of Yellowstone has allowed him more time and a place of power to do another western project it would seem. This is the effort.

The story is set in multiple states at the end of the 1800s. The west is being explored and populated by immigrants. There are advertisements in the easter coastal cities to encourage a move the wild wild west. Land and opportunity for those who are willing to work for it. Of course there are the indigenous tribes who have populated the lands for many generations. Although the concept of ownership of the land is different they have experienced those immigrants and their armies who take without offering anything. So there are conflicts with innocents who deserve better. From various States we move to a smaller community conflict with a revenge story with two brothers. It is somewhat similar to Unforgiven.

So where does Costner fit into all this? He is an individual who seems to have a primary focus on gold mining. He makes money here and there, and gets targeted by the local lady of the evening who sees him as a potential Sugar Daddy. Things happen and Costner ends up getting involved more deeply than he was hoping. His path changes and he takes on different responsibilities freely. The bad brothers who confront Costner’s character are laughably evil with a predictable outcome. Costner plays the bad ass “man with no name” alright, but not on par with Clint Eastwood.

The challenge of course with all this is that this is slow moving with not enough development of the characters or the underlying stories. This is part one, with factions including the indigenous populations, the army, the ranchers and individuals just trying to make their way in life. The foundation is laid here but for me I wanted to see more development of the characters. I won’t be anxious to catch the second episode, but one can hope that it addresses a story that is balanced and fair to how things happened as opposed to the versions that we have been privy to for many years.