Motor City (2026)

By: Mike Ward on Sunday, July 26

R Running Time: 103 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Motor City has an ambitious concept and attempts something rarely seen in modern action films - no dialogue.

  • Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, and Ben Foster commit to the bit and give this their best effort.

  • A distinctive visual style and and eclectic 1970s soundtrack creates a memorable atmosphere…

NO

  • …until it doesn’t. Eventually, the concept and idea becomes increasingly distracting rather than an immersive viewing experience.

  • The lack of dialogue may sound great in theory, but in this approach, connecting with characters becomes almost impossible.

  • Style and music become the focus, not the story. And some of the needle drops here are on-the-nose or downright puzzling. No spoilers, but Ray Conniff fans deserve an apology.


OUR REVIEW

Some movies fail because they lack imagination. Others fail because they become so committed to an idea that they lose sight of everything else.

Motor City is a 1970s grindhouse-adjacent action film, with a hyper-violent second act, a couple dozen music cues, popular streaming star Alan Ritchson (“Reacher”), the always intriguing Shailene Woodley, and character actor Ben Foster. There’s interesting lighting, amazing wigs, and, all in all, a distinctive look to the film that genuinely makes it stand out in today’s marketplace.

There is also no dialogue. Well, not zero dialogue - but I counted nine lines spoken out loud. The press notes say five. Six? Seven? Really, who’s counting?

I guess I was. 

The point is that for 95-100 minutes or so, no one really talks. People exchange knowing glances. Furrow their brows. Exude emotion through expression and movement. Show pain and fear. This isn’t esoteric, experimental filmmaking. There’s a conventional story being told. And the approach is interesting for a little while, especially if you are not aware this is what you are getting from a new action movie starring Alan Ritchson. 

Directed by Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry), and set in 1977 Detroit, Ritchson plays Miller (introduced with David Bowie’s “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)”), a factory guy who meets and falls for waitress Sophia (Woodley). Their whirlwind romance (cue Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day”) leads to an engagement, but soon crashes and burns when Miller is framed by a mob guy named Reynolds (Foster) and arrested in a massive drug bust that puts him behind bars (cue Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”). Here, Sophia finally breaks the silence, throwing her ring at a window in the prison, tearfully yelling to Miller, “I loved you!” 

Ultimately, this revenge film gets bloody and violent, but the first half is where it tests your patience. Motor City plays like a high-concept music video from the 1980s, stylized from the 1970s, soundtracked by nearly two dozen songs, a synth-heavy score by Steve Jablonsky (Transformers films, “The Sims” video games), and bathed in an amber-hued glow courtesy of cinematographer John Matysiak.

Motor City’s lack of dialogue creates a number of unintended consequences. For one, when people do not have enough information, they fill in the gaps, meaning that the screenplay by Chad St. John (London Has Fallen) can be interpreted in any number of ways. 

Even if you follow this scene-by-scene and take only what is given to you, practical questions begin to emerge about the world these characters inhabit. Clearly, they live in a weird dystopia where people don’t use words to convey what they want, need, and desire, unless they absolutely have to. Yet, phones ring. We see people talking with doors closed and through office windows. People otherwise live their lives like normal, but I found myself more curious about what it would mean to live in a “quiet” world.

There’s bars. Music. Drinking. But in Motor City, people just smile, swoon, and frown instead of talking through their feelings. 

Maybe that’s why they are so violent. 

The whole concept proves distracting, because I found myself less interested in Miller’s quest to clear his name and right the wrongs done against him, and far more interested in what his day-to-day looks like before he was jailed. My mind drifted, wondering what it would be like if I didn’t talk for an entire day while doing all the same things I always do.

When the violence escalates, and Miller is dispatching mobsters and enlisting friends to help him carry out his revenge, we are not invested in any way because these individuals are never allowed to become actual characters. There’s no connection. Miller just shoots people, bludgeons them, and tries to find a path to make Reynolds pay for all he’s done. 

In the end, Motor City doesn’t work. Fight scenes might be accompanied by “Nights in White Satin” and “Moonlight Feels Right,” but there simply are not enough needle drops, or words, to make this a city worth visiting.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster, Pablo Schrieber, Ben McKenzie, Lionel Boyce, Amar Chadha-Patel, Rafael Cebrián, Jack White

Director: Potsy Ponciroli
Written by: Chad St. John
Release Date: July 24, 2026
Independent Film Company