By Dan Skip Allen

I’ve become a fan of Alan Ritchson the more I see him in movies and television/streaming series, such as Reacher. He has made that character his own, but I first saw him years ago in Titans, where he played Hawk, one half of the duo Hawk and Dove. Since then, he’s come into his own as an action star. He’s even rumored to be the new Batman for James Gunn in his new iteration of DC Studies. That’s just a rumor, of course, though. I quite like him in “Ordinary Angels” but that kind of heartwarming story is a rarity for him lately in his career. “Motor City” his latest film is more in his wheelhouse these days. He and the rest of the cast had to do a lot in this movie, which is why I liked it so much.

This film is a period piece set in Detroit of 1977, as the title refers. It focuses mainly on John Miller (Alan Ritchson), who gets some good news. He has finished his probationary period and got a letter to prove that. This gives him an idea to propose to his girlfriend Sophia (Shailene Woodley). This begins a happy period for the pair, which leads to a light of sex. Something happens as a canister of gas is shot through their window, and a squad of police in riot gear rush into their home. They end up arresting this man and show him they found a bunch of coke in the trunk of his 70s model muscle car. Come to find out, he was set up by a cop named Reynolds (Ben Foster), who was jealous of this man for stealing the woman he loves. This is his way of getting her back. This leads to a five year prison sentence for this man who was set up by the cops of drug dealing. Any man would be pretty mad at this and want to seek revenge against those whom he deems are responsible. 

Potsy Ponciroli, the director, chose to do a couple of things that stood out to me in this film. Two incredible things if you ask me. The first is an incredible framing device that will get you excited by this movie from the very beginning. The cold open is an action sequence involving a car chase and a body that flies off of a roof onto a passing car. That was crazy to me because I didn’t expect this film to start so wildly. This is a foreshadow because then the film gets into its actual plot after this. It eventually comes back to it in the end, which worked so well for the context of the story. I loved this framing device. 

The second thing that might be more of a difficult decision from most people’s point of view is that Ponciroli upped the ante by making the film silent. Nobody would have expected that. There are a few words spoken in the movie, but it’s an old saying that made me pay more attention to this film now. That saying is “The Devil is in the Details”. That’s what I had to look at because of the silence. I looked at all the small things. One example is when the Woodley character is confronted at her work, a diner, by the Foster character, and he wants some coffee. He turns his cup up, and she pours herself a cup of coffee, making him pour his own cup from the hot pot of coffee that is set on the table. They use eye contact to know what they are doing. Later, the Foster character is angry at a key moment in the story, and his emotions are easily noticed in this scene. That’s what viewers have to do. Look at the things that are in the frame instead of what they can’t hear. A newspaper article is pushed in on outside the window that gives big details of the film’s  plot. These are the most important things this movie is doing.

The best thing, as far as I’m concerned in this film, is its soundtrack and how it’s used to complement this story. I don’t know how Ponciroli was able to get all of these iconic songs for the soundtrack, but he did. These songs in the film made the movie that much better. Most of them, such as “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” by David Bowie: The 1982 banger sets the tone for the intense opening sequence.”Archbishop Harold Holmes” by Jack White: Plays during the end credits.”Lovely Day” by Bill Withers: Featured prominently in the movie’s trailer.”Ring Christmas Bells” by Ray Conniff: Plays during the scene where Detective Kent finds the engagement ring.”Moonlight Feels Right” by Starbuck: Hears during an altercation involving corrupt cops and the character Youngblood.”Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues: The classic rock track that plays when John escapes prison made a huge impact on the story. That’s why the soundtrack was so integral. 

The cast in this action film is full of good character actors like Ben Foster, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Ben Mackenzie and Lionel Boyce, (The Bear), but it was Ritchson who shined once again in another action film that was right up his alley. He just had what he needed to have to do this crazy action movie. He did some fight scenes/action sequences that were full of blood and gore. I was shocked by how bloody this film truly went. It went to the next level. A sequence of rubbing dirt on his face never felt so emotional like it did here. I’ve seen a lot of action scenes, and this was the best because of the bloody nature of it and the creativity that went into every aspect of it. What a crazy scene. I hope people will be happy by what they see, not what they don’t hear once again.

“Motor City” was a film I heard a lot about out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. It was worth the wait. I was excited to see this movie, and I was just as excited after I had seen it because of what I had just witnessed. Ponciroli took a genre that, for lack of a better word, could be perceived as “tired”. He made an exciting film with car chases, fight scenes, and an incredible soundtrack that propelled the story forward from the very beginning. This is a director I want to see more from in the future. Ritchson will be in another season of “Reacher” soon, but if they really want to see an amazing movie, they should see this one. It’s one of the best I’ve seen this year, so far. I truly and really mean that.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 stars