Motor City review – They don’t make ‘em like they used to

Movies have changed – not only in the way they are consumed, but also the way they’re written. In recent years, industry figures and commentators have put forward the argument that films today are designed for the multitasking viewer. Famously, Matt Damon went on record to say that Netflix wants movies to restate “the plot three or four times in the dialogue” to accommodate audience members distracted by their phones.

Good luck trying to watch Motor City while browsing social media, though. With fewer than 10 audible lines in its entire 103-minute runtime, the revenge actioner is throwback in more ways than one. It forces the audience to pay attention, refusing to spell things out with its sprinkled tidbits of environmental storytelling.

That said, Motor City isn’t a demanding film for the most part. Especially on the narrative front. You can sum up the plot in just three sentences. In 1970s Detroit, Vietnam veteran-turned-automotive factory worker John Miller (Reacher’s Alan Ritchson) has found domestic bliss with waitress Sophia (Shailene Woodley). But then Sophia’s powerful drug lord ex Reynolds (Ben Foster) frames Miller for cocaine peddling, putting the latter in prison for 25 years while the former wins back his woman. Cue jail break and revenge.

Like its period setting, Motor City feels like a product of yesteryear. Propelled by a soundtrack curated by The White Stripes’ Jack White, a Detroit native who executive produces and cameos onscreen, the film revels in macho energy. This is a world where women are simply thinly sketched motivators for male action. Said action mirrors the muscle cars of the period: there are no airbags, no crumple zones; just crunching, graphic violence.

Truthfully, Motor City could have done with more of said action. Something feels unbalanced about the pacing and structure of the film, which leans in a dour tonal direction. Maybe it’s supposed to come across as tragic? It’s certainly stylish, with Old Henry and Greedy People director Potsy Ponciroli keeping a mostly tight grip on his execution of the film’s “silent movie meets rock opera” conceit. Conservative use of slow motion and dramatic audio shifts add to the impact.

Time for a heavy sigh because Motor City really gets a lot right, only to stutter elsewhere. The music, which includes hits from the likes of David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Donna Summer and The Moody Blues, sucks you into the period, while attention to detail in costuming, set design and one highly convincing instance of age makeup (ignore the second laughable example) makes things even more immersive.

On that note, Foster slips into this world effortlessly, and is the most interesting character by far. Ritchson is easy to root for, but physically feels out of place, like he’s too powerful to convincingly put up with all the injustice Miller is subjected to. That said, he gets to take part in arguably the most intense elevator fight ever captured on film (move over Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Miller’s bladed brawl with Pablo Schreiber’s corrupt cop is absolutely the highlight of Motor City, and alone makes the movie worth watching.

It’s just a pity that Motor City never stays in such a high gear for long. It’s fine for the film not to be “fun,” but it loses a lot when the energy leaks completely out of it. As such, this feels like a cinema release that will entertain critics with its creativity, and insistence on upholding the moviemaking principles of yesteryear, more than it will win over audiences as a rousing crowd-pleaser.

Motor City is on the big screen in South Africa from 24 July.