I never cared much for Easy Rider . It always seemed so sloppy and self-indulgent: I think it's only inarguable innovation is it's use of "found" music; nothing against it's cast, but they're stoned or high to the point of being boring to watch. It's anti-authoritarian in a loud, drunk, high school kind of way.
Electra Glide in Blue gives a direct hint or two that it might agree with this sentiment. It is a much neater and more thought out film, that at one point literally takes a shot at the aforementioned biker film. Robert Blake, who I'd really only known for his Lost Highway and wife-shooting creepiness, is a fairly appealing lead as eager-beaver motorcycle cop Jon Wintergreen; he's a spunky little dude. Unlike the grimy whiny hippies of Easy Rider he seems to know what he wants, a promotion to detective.
Thus begins Electra Glide's more reasoned attack on authority via motorcycle picture. That position of authority and system itself don't turn out to be what Wintergreen hoped, but the movie doesn't steep to fuzz-bashing. The hippies are dirty and sinister too. If you only caught ten or fifteen minutes of this one, you might even think it some kind of right-wing corrective to Easy Rider. In it's slow, measured 70s way, the film seems to make an argument that only the individual is true in a not evil, but sadly corrupt world.
The pace and style of Electra Glide in Blue are very 70s New Hollywood, and it is recommended for fans of that style or the "dark indy drama" of the 90s through present. While there is some action, including a clumsy and unnecessary but kind of awesome slow-mo chase, there may not be enough cheap thrills for the biker or exploitation flick fan.