Title – Motor City (2025)
Director – Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry)
Cast – Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Ben McKenzie
Plot – In 1970’s Detroit, ex-service man turned reformed criminal John Miller (Ritchson) falls for Sophia (Woodley), setting in motion a dangerous game that will play out with local gangster Reynolds (Foster) who too is in love with Sophia.
“Love will drive you mad”
Review by Eddie on 06/10/2026
Fair warning for those that might be heading into Motor City based purely off action packed trailers and creative posters, Potsy Ponciroli’s ambitious mostly dialogue free action thriller isn’t the film you’re probably going to be expecting.
At one stage well over a decade ago, screenwriter Chad St. John’s script was included on the prestigious Black List collection of unfilmed scripts, not a bad effort considering there is a reported 5 lines of dialogue in the entire 100-minute film, with the time to screen going through various iterations before it finally settled on Reacher breakout star Alan Ritchson partnering with Old Henry breakout director Ponciroli.
Set in the late 70’s in the working class surrounds of the rugged Detroit cityscape, City follows Ritchson’s John Miller, a man who has turned his life of violence and crime into love for Shailene Woodley’s Sophia, who’s troublesome relationship with local crime boss Reynolds (a having a blast, chest hair flaunting Ben Foster) sets them on a destructive pathway to bloodshed and heartbreak.
Everything at the core of City is extremely generic, this tales been told a million times before with the big point of difference being Ponciroli and his cast are relying on visuals, set-pieces, a loaded soundtrack and some creative flair to keep things interesting and sustained across the films allotted time.
Without being able to connect to these characters on a deeper emotional level, it’s hard to stay full invested in City throughout with the bare minimal dialogue approach wearing thin around the 50 – 60 minute mark, leaving the film feeling long in the tooth, a situation not helped by a series of rather lacklustre action beats that only really come to life when a brilliant showdown in an elevator takes over, setting in motion a pulse-pounding finale that is then followed by a bizarre make-up clad ending.
Everyone involved in the film in front of the camera acquits themselves well to delivering performances of note without much to work with, Ritchson does well even when lumped with some questionable hair, Woodley commits and Foster and Pablo Schreiber enjoy getting to bring their cookie-cutter villains to life but there’s multiple moments where you wish the film had dropped the central gimmick, as despite the generic nature of its narrative, you can’t help but feel there’s a better and more notable version of City to be made in a different set of circumstances.
Still entertaining to a certain level and another personal win on screen for Ritchson who has had a busy 2026 with this, War Machine, Runner and the new season of Reacher hitting screens around the world, City has its moments, you just wish they weren’t so few and far between.
Final Say –
Outstaying its concepts welcome before the finish line arrives, Motor City is still a gritty and sometimes gripping crime feature that is home to a few standout action scenes that rank amongst some of the year’s best.
3 neatly fitting prison guard uniforms out of 5
