The Wild Angels: Roger Corman

So this is the film that inspired the outlaw biker film genre of the late 1960s and 1970s, huh?  I don't understand why. When you get right down to it, Roger Corman's The Wild Angels isn't very good.  I guess it was so beloved and influential due to the lifestyle that it portrayed.  It follows the eponymous biker gang as they raise hell and havoc throughout California.  Near the beginning, one of the bikers named Loser has his motorcycle stolen. So the gang tracks down his motorcycle to a Latino garage near Mecca, California and demonstrate how they solve all of their problems: extreme violence.  However, the police come to break up the fight and Loser is shot in the back.  The Wild Angels then do the sensible thing and kidnap Loser from the hospital, only stopping to sexually assault one of the nurses.  Much to their great surprise, removing Loser from the hospital results in him going into shock and dying.  And so Blues, the leader of the gang played by Peter Fonda, takes Loser's body to his hometown to have him buried.  But first they stop at a small church to have a service.  Again, they seem totally surprised that the minister of the church would object to them hanging a giant Nazi Swastika Flag over the altar and showing up to the ceremony in leather and blue jeans.  Blues then confronts the minister midway through the service because he objects to the eulogy. The minister asks what exactly the Wild Angels want. Blues takes the stage and delivers a passionate plea: "We want to be free! We want to be free to do what we want to do! We want to be free to ride. And we want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man. And we want to get loaded. And we want to have a good time! And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have a good time. We’re gonna have a party!" They then demonstrate their idea of "freedom" by destroying the church, raping Loser's girlfriend, and brawling with another gang. So, clearly these people deserve to have the freedom to do what they want. I'm sorry, but I just didn't like this film. It's poorly paced and features a completely unlikable set of protagonists. But then again, I'm just a square. So what do I know?

3/10