Relying on minimal dialogue, while using an ultra-familiar rock soundtrack and well-crafted action scenes to carry the plot, the action thriler Motor City is Potsy Ponciroli’s third feature.
Starring Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster, Pablo Schreiber, Lionel Boyce and Shailene Woodley, it is not only set in 1977 Detroit, but also feels as if oit was made in that decade.
The conventional plot follows John Miller (Alan Ritchson), an ex-con, seeking revenge against a gangster (Ben Foster) who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit and stole his girlfriend (Shailene Woodley) in 1977 Detroit.
The film world premiere at the 2025 Venice Film Fest, and released in the U.S. a year later, July 24, 2026.
John Miller takes down a man and throws him onto the car of a gangster, kills some men before confronting the gangster.
Cut to a year earlier, when John is a factory worker in love with Sophia (Shailene Woodley). A high ranking gang boss, Reynolds has his men put drugs in his car, resulting in John being framed and convicted to a 25-year sentence.
Melodrama kicks in, when Sophia breaks up with John and goes to Reynolds, but John emanages to escape prison with his friends’ assistance
Traveling to Reynolds house, John finds a drugged Sophia, he kills Reynolds’ men and escapes. Reynolds attempts to shoot John, but accidentally kills Sophia, and John is forced to abandon Sophia’s corpse and escapes when police shootout erupts.
John tracks down Reynolds attempting to escape, kills his men and fights him. John shoots him with the wedding ring, injuring him and the two continue fighting when the car crashes, allowing Reynolds to escape and leaving John devastated.
Decades later, John, breaks into Reynolds house and steals his gun, shooting him dead, thus avenging Sophia and his friends.
Cast
Alan Ritchson as John Miller
Shailene Woodley as Sophia
Ben Foster as Reynolds
Pablo Schreiber as Savick
Ben McKenzie as Kent
Lionel Boyce as Youngblood
Amar Chadha-Patel as Singh
Rafael Cebrián as Athos
