Black Angels

Black Angels; the latest installment in Motorcycle Movie Night.

This one dates back to 1970 and was the last of the "black" biker flicks...only...it wasn't much of a black biker flick. The Black Angels for instance aren't a biker gang (that would be the Choppers), the Black Angels is the name for the local fuzz. Speaking of which, the movie is SO LOW-RENT they couldn't even afford fake police uniforms for said 5-0. They're just wearing black shirts and pants with one sleeve insignia sewn on. No cherries on the "cop car" either. It's just...a car...that two guys ride around in who make a passing resemblance to police officers. It's terrible.

This movie was bizarre. I've seen so many biker flicks, but this one was definitely one of the most out there. Horrendous music choices. Weird (read: shitty as hell) camerawork and editing that made no sense whatsoever. Jarringly poor shots. Random characters that appear and have zero impact on the plot. Crap script. A cougar and a raccoon (don't ask). It was just particularly disjointed to the extent that it seemed like a biker movie parody it was so bad.

But the bikers were phenomenal. Seriously fucking righteous choppers. Totally made up for how crap the movie was. At the end of the day it WAS a biker flick through and through. And honestly may have had the best bikes we've ever seen. But yeah, it covered just about every biker cliche you could want. But getting back to the weirdness of the movie; there was an odd scene where they try and bestow some moral values on the viewer. There's some overt anti-racist messages in the flick. That's cool, but very heavy-handed and out of place for a movie of this ilk. Just kinda came outta nowhere because biker flicks aren't known for their moral strength. They pretty much thrive on depravity.

Black Angels had some really weird fast motion scenes, too. You're not fooling anyone bro. It's like an old kung-fu flick where they sped up the action...but with motorcycles. It looks retarded. Plus you mix that with really quick editing and it's a recipe for "what the fuck is going on".

I'm hating on this movie but we laughed. It entertained us. And I'm actually really looking forward to reading about it in my biker movie reference books. Maybe they can shed some light on how and why it's so bizarre.

I'd watch it again.