Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Absolutely the worst movie.

The first must-see film of the year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I found "Hell's Angels on Wheels" on a disc containing three Jack Nicholson films. However, the print quality on "Jack Nicholson: Cult Classics" was pretty bad and I assume there must be better quality prints available somewhere--especially since at least two of the films (perhaps all three) are widely available from many different distributors.The plot of "Hell's Angels on Wheels" is amazingly slim and it looks as if most of the movie was unscripted and the filmmakers just filmed these folks doing all kids of things--some illegal, some just annoying. At one point, an angry young guy (Nicholson) gets in good with the gang and is soon allowed to ride with them. During the course of the film there are quite a few fights and a lot of making out--though the level of violence and amount of skin you see is very, very limited and the film is pretty tame compared to some of the latter biker films. Now this isn't to say it's a family film--as there are a couple murders along the way. As for Nicholson, eventually he gets tired of the scene and it ends with a face-off with the leader of the pack. How it all ends is really stupid--so stupid you need to see it to believe it."Hell's Angels on Wheels" isn't a very good film but it is watchable. Directionless much of the time, of course, but oddly compelling in a voyeuristic sort of way. An odd glimpse into the 1960s, that's for sure and definitely NOT a film for the average viewer.

Jack Nicholson is poised and relaxed here, but he doesn't get to show much wit as a good boy who decides to run with the Angels' dastardly misadventures for a spell. In so doing, he hooks up with the leader's gf, the better for them to offer their detached commentary on the varied depravity. This 'redeeming social value' move is extraneous and entirely unconvincing, even if the filmmakers believe every word; it's pure gamesmanship, something for the eggheads to chew on. The actual content of the film resides in the episodic procession of set pieces, each chosen for maximum visual interest - an amusement park brawl, a body-painting party, a biker wedding, a duel to the death amid some scenic ruins. Cinematographer "Leslie" Kovacs makes the most of these, but in the end it's pretty thin gruel. The big musical interlude in the middle sums things up: "Moving but going nowhere". Going nowhere fast, too, as in the absurdly abrupt ending; not that there was anything that really needed doing beyond that.

Despite the downbeat ending, this movie gives off a clear feeling that the cast really enjoyed making it. There is a sense of fun and playfulness about the bikers' way of life, in stark contrast with the grim, depressing storyline of Corman's The Wild Angels.The conventional views of straight society are expressed by different characters bewildered by the bikers' aimless lifestyle. The go go dancer argues with gang leader Buddy about jobs and marriage, which he casually shrugs off with the remark that he's tried that already. Jack Nicholson's leading character Poet is continually ridiculed by biker girl Shill as being a square with a middle class set of values, when he tries to have a serious relationship with her. The movie honestly portrays both the attractions and the negative aspects of the freewheeling biker way of life without judging. Ultimately, Poet becomes disillusioned with the Hell's Angels and clashes with Buddy, as it becomes clear that Buddy expects unquestioning obedience from his followers, and imposes his own rules on them, not unlike the Establishment he's supposedly rebelling against.This movie is a fascinating time capsule of a time and place most of us never knew in real life. Adam Roarke as Buddy and Jack Nicholson as Poet turn in two excellent performances in a meandering, casually thrown together movie that seems almost a documentary of the Hell's Angels lifestyle in the Sixties.Worth seeing, even if you don't care for biker movies in general. More than one viewer has commented on the movie's strange, indefinable quality, as if the whole thing were a dream. See it and decide for yourself.

Hell's Angels On Wheels is the movie Hell's Angels president Sonny Barger recommends as the most true to life movie about the Hell's Angels in his autobiography, which is why I decided to rent it and see the movie for myself.Buddy (Adam Roarke) is the Sonny Barger character of this movie and the leader of that particular chapter of Hell's Angels. The movie starts when Buddy and his crew are passing through a gas station when Poet (Jack Nicholson) gets fired from his job as a gas station attendant.Eventually, Buddy takes a liking to Poet, after an altercation between Poet and another Angel over his broken headlight, and later when Poet backs Buddy up in a barroom brawl. Pretty soon, they vote Poet in as a prospect and he sees the way of life of the Hell's Angels. Buddy passes him his own woman and takes another from a club member. This seems strange to Poet at first, but he finally gets what is going on and decides he does not like it.Plotwise, there is not much to this movie. It turns out to be mostly about the girl who gets passed between Buddy and Poet, named Shill (Sabrina Scharf). It is mostly just partying, bike riding and fighting, which I guess is what they are pointing out. Nicholson and Roarke did a great job acting and made the story better than if it would have been had they not been in it. As it is, I only give it about 5.5/10.