Action movies are fun grounds for experimental gimmicks. Hardcore Henry explored what it would be like to experience an action film from a first-person point of view. The One Shot movies are adrenaline-fueled action fares that are presented in one continuous shot, much like 1917. And John Woo’s Silent Night is an action film that sports no dialogue. Alan Ritchson’s new film, Motor City, also gives us a ton of mayhem, but with very few words. The Independent Film Company has just released the trailer for the atmospheric action film.
The cast list includes Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Ben Foster and Ben McKenzie. Potsy Ponciroli directs the film from a screenplay by Chad St. John.
The official plot synopsis reads,
“In 1970s Detroit a working-class romantic is framed by a ruthless gangster after falling for his girlfriend. After years in prison, he returns with only one mission: revenge.With operatic scale, MOTOR CITY unleashes a barrage of brutal action, magnetic performances, and striking imagery, fueled by a thunderous rock score, precision-crafted action, and immersive sound design to create a visceral, propulsive spectacle built to electrify audiences this summer.”
Ponciroli previously wrote and directed Old Henry, directed and co-wrote the comedy Super Zeroes, directed the crime comedy Greedy People, and created the CMT series Still the King… Although at the moment, he might be best known for being the person who was hired to write the long-awaited Goonies sequel.
For this movie, Ponciroli was working from a screenplay that was written by Chad St John and was featured on the Black List. Deadline notes that the “script started out at Warner Bros more than a decade ago and went through multiple iterations in terms of leads and directors interested. Despite becoming an independent project it has managed to maintain impressive production scale and scope. It’s part graphic novel-part noir-part John Wick meets disco.” Motor City was made on a budget of $30 million.
Our Chris Bumbray had a blast with the film at TIFF, giving it an 8/10 and saying in his review, “The action is ferocious, with an especially good mano-a-mano fight between Ritchson and co-star Pablo Schreiber (who plays a crooked cop) serving as the action highlight. […] While the idea of a dialogue-free action movie might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I found myself riveted by the craft demonstrated by Ponciroli. Given Ritchson’s rising fame, this could be a movie people talk about for years.”
Motor City explodes into theaters on July 24.