Redline: Perigo nas Pistas

Those comparisons actually aren't mine. I saw "Redline" courtesy of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and the presenter used those comparisons. A video presentation was also shown of writer Katsuhito Ishii when he was in the city not too long ago. If he attended the screening and did a Q&A, I bet there would've been a question on drug use for coming up with the story or making the film. It's f**king crazy and bizarre. It's also f**king well-made.

What's it about? My story depiction probably won't exactly tell you the madness you'll be getting into, unfortunately. You'd really have to see it for yourself. Anyway, it's an anime set in a futuristic universe involving people and anthropomorphic creatures racing in vehicles on different planets. I can't really describe any of the anthropomorphic creatures in the film. Maybe some are aliens and some are animals or animal-like? Those are my best guesses. Our protagonist is JP, a male racer with funky-looking hair who tends to be laid-back when he's not racing. After losing a race called the Yellowline, a precursor to the famous no holds barred Redline, it seems like it's over for him. However, he qualifies for the Redline, anyway, which is being held on a planet where its government violently opposes the race. I can hear "The Imperial March" playing in my head when it comes to them. JP, being the daredevil that he is, participates in the big race that's the final scene for the film. Yeah, it's a cliché, but it feels minor to me, especially for this particular film. Added to the story is a nice relationship with JP and Sonoshee, a female racer.

"Redline" was in the works for seven years, as I've recently learned. Wow. I, for one, certainly don't think those years went to waste. The heavily detailed animation is sweet eye candy. Unlike the live action "Speed Racer" film, "Redline" was never overwhelming to look at. In fact, because I had to read its English subtitles, I wish I could've understood Japanese so I could've focused more on the animation. I admittedly had some trouble following the film. There's so much going on and sometimes the subtitles went too fast for me to read. There were a few times where audience members were laughing and I didn't get what was funny. Nonetheless, I did laugh with the audience at times, like when one of the racers on TV is talking with a puppy. Even films that are hard to follow, such as "Inception", can be highly entertaining. On the way home, I laughed to myself over what I just watched. The audience even cheered at least twice. The action is thrilling and that includes the beginning with the Yellowline race despite the lack of characterization. As the film goes on, we do get to know the main characters to a certain extent. JP is likable and down-to-Earth, if you will. There are flashbacks to him as a child, which may also be clichéd, but again, no biggie. Watching the film, I didn't even think of the flashbacks that way.

Looking past the craziness and the animation, does "Redline" have anything meaningful for us to take away? I'm not sure. There could be a moral on leaving a profitable criminal lifestyle, for one. If there's meaning, it's subtle. I can't believe that word comes to mind when this film has a racing vehicle with two breast-shaped windows. "Redline" is probably just utter escapism. Director Takeshi Koike, Katsuhito Ishii, and so on have definitely crafted something memorably wacky. I've never done acid, but I have to wonder what watching this film would be like on that drug. That should probably be best left a mystery.

Redline is one of those movies that is absolutely popping with adolescent joy, from the sleekly-animated racing sequences to the ridiculous bravado of the characters. It's a bold debut for director Takeshi Koike, and what really amazes is that it manages to be an epic story that at the same time seems to be only a sliver of a crazy and exciting universe. You get the feeling that any of the other racers, some of whom only get a sliver of screen time, could easily support their own movie, and that kind of overflowing exuberance is hard not to buy into. The only other media that comes to mind as capturing this sensation is the anime series Giant Robo, which seems like a clear precedent here.

Plot-wise, there isn't much going on, with the story a serviceable vehicle to get from one action sequence to another. It does, however, manage to use common tropes in a way that feels mythic and not derivative. Redline really only does one thing -- epic action -- and those looking for anything else will probably be disappointed. But man, does it succeed on that front.

This review would be incomplete without mentioning the amazing music, an eclectic group of tunes that completes the adrenaline rush. Hell, every character gets their own theme song. How cool is that? (My favourite is Machine Head's.) And, in the end, that's what Redline ultimately wants to leave you thinking: "How cool is that?"

But Redline is absolutely brilliant. It's an over-the-top, action packed movie with great characters that leaves you twitching with adrenaline.

The animation, visuals, sound, and music really bring this movie together. Once it starts, it's a non-stop rush until the end. The characters are great and are developed as much as they need to be. As far as the plot goes, it's fairly simple, but the writing will keep you entranced.

I've seen both the subbed and dubbed versions, and they're both great. I usually avoid dubbed foreign movies, but the English cast is actually pretty good here.

P.S. Watch this movie in HD with surround sound.

Out of random happenstance I went and saw this movie at the Reel Anime movie festival as it came to Canberra Australia. My only regret is that I didn't see this in a higher quality cinema.

When you see this movie, have the sound loud and the screen big. Its an experience I haven't had with a movie in a long time. I went in without any preconceptions other than the movie looked very zany after seeing the trailer on YouTube.

What surprised me most other than the very energized racing sequences, is that there seemed to be a whole back story to the universe where the races were taking place. There were hints of politics, history and other tidbits that made each of the locations that are visited and the characters shown have a lot more substance than just a pretty backdrop. You can almost imagine a whole prequel movie leading up to the events in this movie.

Of course this is anime so they did have a few of the cliché characters such as dashing yet arrogantly confident pretty boy and the "I have to be independent and strong" female character that gets his attention. Plus the usual loud characters or cool tough guys. But don't let that stop you, as it is what gives this story a bit of depth rather than being a series of mindless races. Plus the characters are a fun mix of races and designs.

The movie isn't about the subtleties of racing such as taking corners well or the art of overtaking by any means, its very much a "I'm much more driven and angrier than you, so now I'll catch up and overtake!", but with the world this is taking place in, the different array of vehicles all going up against each other and the obstacles that keep popping up, its just fun.

There is a scene where there are some boobs hanging out, but the story never gets sexual, so if you don't mind your kids seeing a little bit of breast you should be fine. The violence is a hard one, there is some serious fighting and some of the concepts as to how a person died may be a little scary to the younger kids, but a lot of this happens very fast.

Do see this movie if you want something visually engrossing, good for when friends are over. Just remember, have it loud and on a big screen!

Redline supposedly took 7 years and ~100,000 individual drawings to create, all hand-drawn, limited computer work, and it shows. It is without a doubt, the absolute no holds barred best visual achievement in 2-D animation ever, you could make a poster out of pretty much every individual frame of this movie. Aside from all that, it's a pretty standard plot about an underdog racer getting to compete in a big race, if you seen any movie like this you can probably guess every single thing that goes on in Redline. But it's the journey rather then the story that really gets you, Redline had memorable and likable characters, a gorgeous and original design, am amazing soundtrack and jaw-dropping racing, go see this if you haven't already.