Grade: C
Synopsis: The leader (Peter Fonda) of a chapter of Hells Angels finds himself questioning his life after a trip to recover a friend’s (Bruce Dern) bike leads to tragedy.
The Wild Angels, at the time, was an interesting take on the biker movie, in that the story is told from the point of view of the bikers themselves. As such, the film feels more honest and real, and it certainly helped pave the way for the king of the biker films, Easy Rider (1969).
The casting is great. Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, and Diane Ladd all look and feel genuine, and even Nancy Sinatra works. Granted, you half expect Dennis Hopper to pop up at any moment, but that’s a byproduct of Easy Rider’s iconic status.
What really makes the film work though, is the script by Charles B. Griffith and an uncredited Peter Bogdanovich. Neither glamorizing, nor demonizing its protagonists, the film paints them as they are, a mismatched group of outcasts, misfits, malcontents, and genuine menaces. It’s not their personalities, but their frustration, that resonates with audiences, and makes the film engaging.
Still, The Wild Angels isn’t for everyone. A certain predisposition to biker films and the 60s subculture helps, though fans of more recent films like Fight Club (1999) and American Beauty (1999) may find similar themes here.
