Comment by Magic Marmalade:
Better than I had been led to believe, if a little odd.
This always seemed to dwell, reputationally, in the long shadow cast by it's near contemporary: Easy Rider, and always seemingly readily dismissed as a bad movie.
But it's not that bad actually; In fact, in many ways, it's really rather good.
The problem it has, I think, is that people don't really know what to make of it, have gone in perhaps, with one set of expectations about what it is, and finding it's mostly something else.
Begin with that title, which leads you to believe this is a biker movie, in the style of what our more recent, and more modern understanding of what Hell's Angels are, and any movie about featuring them would be... And while there certainly are those elements present: Riding around en masse, fights, trouble with the law etc. What it really is, is a typically sixties psychedelic art movie, like an Andy Warhol movie, with zany, amateur-ish spiralling handheld camera views of crazy arty orgies, strange set piece scenes of mucking about on motorcycles and other trippy nonsense, all set, not to any expected hard rock soundtrack you may associate, but all the groovy, psychedelic, far out Hollywood approximations of the music of that specific era.
All of which, gives it a weird vibe: A psychedelic movie featuring Bikers? ... eh?
Like chocolate and cheese. Two things that you may like on their own, but would never consider putting together.
The "plot" consists, at least for the first hour, of a wash, rinse, repeat cycle of psychedelic orgy and love scenes, followed by a fight, followed by some riding, followed by another love / orgy scene, followed by a fight...etc. Once petrol station attendant Jack Nicholson ditches his job and takes up with the Hell's Angels.
And frankly, this first hour seems aimless, and pointless, and going nowhere... which is, as it turns out the point the movie is consciously making... the excellent song in this: Moving Going Nowhere, by a band called The Poor, makes this evident, in case you missed it!
...But the last 25 mins / half hour is where it all begins to make sense, and you go: "oh!.. I get it!"
And as such, it turns out to be a commentary on an itinerant, rebellious lifestyle. And given that this point was very much against the prevailing "free" spirit of the time it was made, it's actually quite bold, and ahead of it's time, in re-appraising the late sixties even while living it.
In fact, Jack Nicholson delivers the most salient line once he realizes he's dropped out of societal norms only to adopt, contrary to his expectations, a new set: "I won't wear your uniform!"
(A bit like when everyone and their dog gets a tattoo in order to be "different from everyone else", and express their "individuality" - Life Of Brian, anyone? ((Chuckle))
Not the greatest movie ever, but really rather good, nonetheless.
