Action Movies or Movies with Action
There is a Sam Peckinpah documentary out there, I think it was the fantastic Mike Siegel documentary Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah, where when discussing the films of director James Coburn makes a quick mention about how Peckinpah's films, and the films of the past, were movies that had action in it and not just strictly action movies. It's all junk these days he says.
JUNK I TELL YOU!
It was an interesting sentiment that I try to apply to the movies I watch so I can have some higher authority to place them in some semblance of a pecking order. Just recently watching those John Wick movies, but not that 4th one because who the fuck thought a 3 hour movie is needed, and i think its safe to say that those can be classified as just action movies. Not a lot of emotional weight to latch onto, the dog that died in the first movie was a very sad moment but how that turns into secret society on the run seems thin, but then I began to enlarge this circle and I see this classification of action movies as just being the absolute norm out there in the streaming void.
Honestly, there is far too many of these motherfuckers. I don't mean to discredit them or anything since action movies have their place and time such as when pizza is the only choice for dinner along with beer but goddamn its a dime a dozen out there. Did you see those Extraction movies? Holy fucking shit if you watch those back to back you'll have a tough time seeing the difference.
You'll grow chest hair watching these
So I see too many of these and get the feeling that when you've seen one then you've seen them all. Then I see this trailer for something coming out into theaters and it catches my interest because its actually going to be playing in theaters. So I go in blind and by a ticket for Motor City.
The Film
Plot: John Miller (Alan Ritchson) gets set up and sent to prison as revenge from Reynolds (Ben Foster) for stealing his girlfriend (Shailene Woodley). He escapes prison and revenge happens. Everyone dies.
The Actual Film
Just looking at that plot summary and its easy to throw this one into the bucket of aimless action films and so why take the time to write a few paragraphs about it?
The main reason why I had to sit down and write some thoughts out was because I had a weird feeling that took a moment to realize that this was the same feeling I had when watching Mandy. So I evaluate this and can strangely see this film playing at the back end of a double feature with Mandy for there was a moment missing that could have launched this into something more but nonetheless it was enjoyable all around.
The main reason why I had to sit down and write some thoughts out was because I had a weird feeling that took a moment to realize that this was the same feeling I had when watching Mandy. So I evaluate this and can strangely see this film playing at the back end of a double feature with Mandy for there was a moment missing that could have launched this into something more but nonetheless it was enjoyable all around.
What also caught my interest before seeing it was the notion that there was supposedly hardly any dialogue throughout the film. Going to stick to the sound effects, a musical score, diegetic music, and various needle drops were spread out all around to fill in the silence and it works. I haven't really seen this much restraint in the endless action movie genre. This movie situation is one that has been told time and time again in the genre but with the lack of dialogue that isn't being spouted out and isn't setting the plot machinations into motion, it leaves me as the viewer to become involved with the material at hand. I know what the characters are saying without needing to hear it and the emotions play true all throughout so it was easier to connect with. The trials and tribulations they have to go through are ones I empathize with John Miller and its been awhile since I saw an action movie character to empathize with.
What also helps with this lack of dialogue is the action itself. The punches are heavy. You feel everyone of them. The gunshots ring loud. All of it coming together especially a scene in an elevator near the end of the movie that is the pièce de résistance for me when it comes to the film overall
Though it works all so well, there was still the notion of the girlfriend character following through the tropes with her own dead wife montage and such. Which goes to the missing moments. In Mandy, there are plentiful moments of Red (Nicolas Cage) dreaming of Mandy and being with her and ultimately coincides with him driving to his destiny with the greatest moment of his life being when he met her. It builds up to it.
Unfortunately, Motor City falls into the genre expectations of the story of them meeting earlier on and its a great scene but after she bites the bullet, she doesn't seem to exist much anymore. Then again, there are moments when she steps into the scene via a mirror or apparition but that breaks the power that memory holds for a loved one which is what would have helped the film immensely.
Final reason; Alan Ritchson.
I only ever saw the first season of Reacher and thought it was pretty good. I can see the appeal for the wide audiences and rightly so, the show deserves the recognition it has and Ritchson the praise in his performance.
Watching this though, there is something more to actor. I wondered if he was able to carry a movie and this film proves he can. He's got that old school charm on the screen similar to that of a Kurt Russell except 200% beefier. Makes me really think that he needs to find himself a real director. This is a guy that needs to link up with a John Carpenter type of director. Seeing this guy in something akin to They Live, The Thing, and if that remake of Big Trouble in Little China comes to be then he should surely play the role of Jack Burton.
Early Morning Wrap Up
A very enjoyable piece of entertainment that I can place as a movie with action than just an action movie. Would James Coburn agree? Probably not but as I grow older and see the plethora of action movie schlock appear left and right almost instantously; I believe I can make a pretty decent argument as to why this succeeds as an actually movie that has action in it.