Josh Reviews Motor City
Alan Ritchson stars in Motor City, a pulpy crime thriller set in Detroit in the late seventies. Mr. RItchson plays John Miller, an ex-con who has just completed his probation and is about to propose to his girlfriend, Sophia (Shailene Woodley). But John gets ensnared in the scheming of a corrupt cop (Pablo Schreiber) and a criminal he’d pissed off (Ben Foster), and winds up framed and sent to prison. Until he busts out, with revenge on his mind…
There is almost no dialogue in Motor City. There’s a soundtrack with some score and a lot of needle-drops, and sound effects.
This is a very cool approach, and it makes Motor City stand out from the many other movies of this type. I thought it was a very clever way to present this story, and it elevated this movie into something that really captured my interest. The visuals and the music and the bone-crunching action propel the story along. My attention did wander somewhat around the middle; I thought the lack of dialogue kept me somewhat at a distance from the characters I was watching. But once John was loose from prison and engaged on his crusade of vengeance, I snapped back into the story.
The film has the sleezy, skeevy tone of an actual seventies B-movie thriller. There’s a lot of violence and one scene of delightfully gratuitous nudity. I was impressed that these elements didn’t feel superficial or tacked on. The film felt successful to me in being a modern version of a seventies revenge flick; with the added artfulness of the no-dialogue approach.
I’ve complained about Alan Ritchson in every one of my Reacher reviews, but this no-dialogue film is perfect for him. He’s an engaging physical presence, and I thought he did a great job pulling the audience in to his character’s plight with his non-verbal acting. This film brings out the best in him.
I’ve been a fan of Shailene Woodley’s ever since seeing her in The Descendants and The Spectacular Now, and it remains a pleasure to see her on screen. She does a terrific job bringing life to what’s a thinly written character. Sophia is sadly little more than a prop to pass between the two main male characters in the film, and she comes off poorly in so quickly abandoning John and going with the villain. Still, Ms. Woodley shines through the screen, bringing a grounded emotional realism to this woman.
Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) steals the movie as the slimy criminal Reynolds. Mr. Foster is an incredible actor, and he does amazing work in fully inhabiting this loathsome toad of an egotistical crime-lord. His greasiness pops off the screen. You can’t look away. I loved watching Mr. Foster in this movie (and I hated his character so much!!).
It’s fun to see Pablo Schreiber (who was memorable as Porn-stache in Orange is the New Black) as the scummy, corrupt detective Savick. I also was happy to see Ben McKenzie as the noble cop Kent. Filling out the ensemble were Lionel Boyce (The Bear, Project Hail Mary) and Amar Chadha-Patel (the Willow TV series, The Creator) as John’s two military buddies. I want to watch a prequel featuring those two!! Both actors were great, immediately selling their deep loyalty and bond with John.
Motor City was written by Chad St. John and directed by Potsy Ponciroli. This is a fun, grimy, action-packed flick. It’s not exactly great cinema, but I had a blast watching it.
Thanks for reading! Please support my website by clicking through one of my Amazon links the next time you need to shop! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means I’ll receive a small percentage from ANY product you purchase from Amazon within 24 hours after clicking through. Thank you!