If there were ever a movie where the music was the main character, it would be Motor City. This is not a complaint, because when you make a ’70s revenge/action thriller, and there’s barely any dialogue, but only really great classic ’70s music that drives the story, then you know you’re about to watch a good movie, at the very least an entertaining movie. Now let me go ahead and tell you right now, I definitely enjoyed this movie, and I think everybody should see it because it has an interesting style that not only takes you back to those big quality ’70s action movies, but delivers an absolutely fantastic soundtrack in place of very minimal dialogue. And it’s very easy to get caught up in the soundtrack. And it’s the music that truly makes the movie work.
Motor City is about a working-class guy who falls in love with a girl who is desired by a notorious Detroit drug dealer. Because he can’t have the girl, he’ll frame the guy who stole her and send him up for more than 20 years. That’s the basic store and this also sets up the ultimate revenge tale. Starring Alan Ritchson, Ben Johnson, and Shailene Woodley, this film is a high-octane-fueled revenge story that doesn’t really give you a chance to catch your breath, all against the backdrop of great music. I loved the style. The director certainly takes a big swing with the music doing the talking as a metaphor for setting the mood between drama and action. The revenge part of the story feels like a Reacher story set in the ’70s where you know a lot of bad guys are going to die and you’re going to enjoy every death. It’s not some artistic film, and it doesn’t need to be, but the performance is are great. Ben Johnson delivers as a great villain. But as entertaining as the film may be, it’s not without its faults. What dialogue is in the movie is poignant and helps make the story better.
However, here are my chief criticisms. While this is a great style, for me it only really works at the beginning of the movie to help set up the main story of revenge; it’s not something that needed to linger over in the last half of the movie. The minimal dialogue only carries the movie so far before you want to hear the characters talk and deliver the kind of lines that we expect from a great action movie. I’m not saying there has to be a lot of dialogue, but by the time we get to the end of the movie, there does need to be more. I can see using it as a device for the first third or at least the first half of the movie, but when the revenge part of the story takes place, I want to hear Alan Ritchson deliver great dialogue like he does when he’s playing Jack Reacher. The music is great, but it doesn’t need to cover up every emotional scene either. As I said, I very much enjoyed this movie, and I think everybody should see it, but after 90 minutes, it starts to feel like one big long music video.
Although this does not take away from the final act when the story gets more gruesome. But if I can point out one thing that was absolutely brilliant in telling the story within this particular style of filmmaking, the dialogue at the very end is profound and is the centerpiece of the story itself. It humanizes the characters. It makes the villain more sympathetic even though you can’t wait to see him die. There doesn’t have to be many words to really sum up the entire movie and make it more dramatic. The director, Pontsy Ponciroli, emphasizes the rule of less is more very well to tell a well-rounded revenge story. And am I humble opinion, this is a great movie to watch at a drive-in or outside on an inflatable screen somewhere. It seems to be a movie made for that kind of viewing. I especially love how there doesn’t need to be a sequel to this movie; they tell a very clear and concise story that has a beginning and a profound ending wrapped up in the ultimate revenge tale about love.
