Mr. Movie review: ‘Detroit’ a film as intense as the real riots

Detroit is a telling of the murders of three young black men at the hands of police during the 1967 riots.

It stars Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ John Boyega, Will Poulter (The Revenant), Algee Smith, Anthony Mackie and has a short, sweet cameo from John Krasinski.

Hannah Murray from Game of Thrones and Kaitlyn Dever of The Last Man Standing play the two girls who get stuck at the motel because of the riots.

All are very good but the most surprising acting comes from Poulter. At first his baby-faced patrolman isn’t that believable but as the movie progresses his character’s psychopathic tendencies emerge. He’s perfectly cast and riveting. This is award-worthy work.

The real star is director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty). A sense of being in the ‘60s is critical. To set that up, Bigelow mixes live-action sequences with actual riot footage. It’s the perfect mood setter.

From the time the cops show up at the motel where the people are killed until the violence ends, this film is nail-chewing stuff.

However, at two hours and 23 minutes there’s too much of it and the confrontation between the cops and the young people starts to wear after awhile. It’s almost like someone telling a joke when no one laughs. The urge then is to toss an elbow or two at the recipient and then ask if they get it.

Ms. Bigelow, we get it.

Criticism aside, as she did with her other films, Bigelow does a great job of recreating an historical mood.

In this case it is a night in 1967 and the insanity of the police abuse during a riot. There are times you want to jump out of your chair and scream at the police to stop. To say the least, the film is intense to the nth degree and is sometimes difficult to watch.

But watch it you should.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Detroit’ a film as intense as the real riots."