Redline (2009)
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Redline Movie Review
Redline is a 2009 science fiction action anime film directed by Takeshi Koike. It’s a very hectic, but stylish anime.
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“Fuck this, they’re too fast!“
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A daredevil driver is determined to compete in Redline, the most popular race in the galaxy. The race only occurs every five years, but in order to participate he must overcome the mafia, the government and even love. Anime can be an acquired taste as is the case with this flick that is so frenetic and so chaotic that it can only appeal to very limited audiences who appreciate that kind of hectic entertainment.
While I did find it to be overwhelmingly action-oriented and fast-paced, I did appreciate its undeniably ambitious and committed kinetic energy that never let go. The characters and especially the plot take a backseat here, but at least the action is cool and exciting for the most part. The climactic ending is also a lot of fun.
The characters aren’t particularly well developed, but the two main ones are at least memorable and amusing. The movie is populated with interesting SF elements, including cool backgrounds, world building and creature design, but for the most part it failed to fully develop this world due to its overemphasis on all that action.
The plot was just your standard racing vehicle with no unique elements of its own. It reminded me of ‘Wacky Races’, though that show was of course never as chaotic or as insane. The tone was positively unhinged here and the editing was crazy. It’s not fully entertaining, but I did have fun with most of its action set pieces that were so exciting and well constructed.
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Redline features superb animation. The designs of the characters and creatures is excellent and the cars were memorable and colorful. The movie looks fluid and gorgeous throughout. But the highlight for me was that incredible score that was immensely appealing and just cool in its fittingly modern techno vibe. It accompanied the imagery on screen beautifully.
Redline is an anime film that is very much an acquired taste due to its hectic pacing and overwhelming action sequences, but that action is superbly executed and genuinely exciting at times. It’s a positively unhinged movie in its pacing, tone and highly kinetic energy. The plot and the characters did suffer due to that pace, but at least the world building is excellent and the animation is super polished and gorgeous. The highlight for me was its fittingly cool techno score.
My Rating – 3.5
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