Alan Ritchson’s 103-Minute Action Thriller Motor City Finds New Life on AMC+ Streaming

8 Nov at 23:17 Comment Views: 0

Alan Ritchson has found success on streaming with Prime Video’s Reacher and Netflix’s sci-fi action hit War Machine. His latest film, Motor City, opened in theaters in July but earned only $3 million during its theatrical run, according to Box Office Mojo. The revenge thriller has since found a second life on digital platforms.

Motor City arrived digitally in August. Within days, it reached No. 9 among Prime Video purchases and debuted at No. 4 on Apple TV. The film is now streaming on AMC Plus, where it ranks as the platform’s sixth most popular title.

Motor City takes Ritchson’s quiet action hero to the next level

Ritchson plays John Miller, a working-class romantic who is framed by a ruthless gangster after falling for the wrong woman. After years in prison, Miller returns with one goal: revenge. The film relies on action rather than dialogue. One of its stars said Motor City has only “five lines of dialogue.”

The film’s official synopsis reads:

In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster’s girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Life ruined, Miller plots revenge against the man who took his girl away.

In addition to Ritchson, the cast includes Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Ben Foster, and Ben McKenzie. Jack White of The White Stripes also makes a cameo. Chad St. John, whose credits include London Has Fallen and Peppermint, wrote the film. Potsy Ponciroli, director of Greedy People and Old Henry, directed it.

In a Polygon interview about making Motor City, Ponciroli singled out the elevator fight as a scene viewers should stay for. “The elevator fight. Everybody has to see [it],” he said. “[When we did our premiere,] you could literally feel the entire theater tense up during it. That’s the big moment.”

Is Motor City any good?

Motor City has a 63% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical reception has been mixed, but the film has drawn viewers on home video.

In Polygon’s review, critic Terry Terrones praised the film’s dialogue-light approach, comparing its visual storytelling to John Wick and Mad Max: Fury Road.

“Motor City isn’t difficult to follow. It’s simply observant,” Terrones wrote. “There’s a difference between making a movie confusing and making audiences participate. Ponciroli isn’t withholding information to create a puzzle box. He’s asking viewers to engage with film as a visual medium.

“That’s something some of the best action movies have always understood. Mad Max: Fury Road never stops to explain the Citadel’s social structure or what ‘Witness me!’ means. George Miller teaches audiences that world through costumes, rituals, and behavior until everything clicks into place naturally. The original John Wick works the same way. We understand John’s reputation less because someone tells us about it than because everyone around him reacts as though they already know exactly who he is.”