Redline

Label:

Manga UK

Certificate:

15

Format:

DVD or Blu-Ray

Discs:

1.

Running time:

101 mins approx

Subtitles:

English

Video:

16:9 widescreen

Sound:

English 2.0 or 5.1, Japanese 2.0 or 5.1

Release date:

14th November 2010

DVD RRP:

£19.99 (Actually £12ish)- Amazon - Play

BD RRP:

£24.99 (Actually £16ish)- Amazon - Play

Brief synopsis:

In the far future, Redline is the greatest, largest, loudest, most exhilarating and definitely the most deadly anything-goes auto-race in the galaxy. A brash young racer named Sweet JP looked sure to ace the preliminaries a spectacular, crowd enthralling crash took him out of the race literally yards from the finish line, quashing his chances of qualifying for the final and totalling his highly customised retro-classic trans-am racecar in the process. But after a number of competitors drop out once they hear that the final will be held on a moon of the military planet of Roboworld, where the local government is not exactly what you’d call friendly to the Redline racers, JP’s thrust back into the game. JP’s backers may be more than happy to front the money for JP’s entry but while JP’s in it to win it, his backers (who just happen to be the Mafia) would rather he throw the race at the last minute in order for them to collect big at the bookies, and if they have to kill JP and his crew to do it, all the better.

Comments:

OK, let’s get this bit out of the way first so we can get onto the important stuff. So, what Redline isn’t… Well the plot’s a bit thin on the ground and what plot there is isn’t exactly the easiest to follow, the characters could have down with a bit more fleshing out and the animation can be a bit inconsistent at times.

And now what Redline is... Well it’s basically an hour and a half visual treat which requires nothing more from the audience than you to keep your eyes in 5th gear and your brain in neutral whilst muttering something along the lines of “Holy cow! Did you see that?!” the whole time. It’s got pretty much everything brain-dead eye candy should have… it’s got hi-octane races, big screen explosions, tits-a-jiggling, bright colours, flashing lights and as a bonus, one of the most head-thumpingly beat-pumpingly ear-catching hi-tempo soundtracks around, just right for both the fast paced racing sequences as well as whenever they’re just blowing shit up.

Brought to the big screen by Studio Madhouse - so you know you’re not going to be fobbed off with any second rate animation here – and god knows how many years in the making, Redline has turned out to be quite that favourite here at SFL. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we’ve screened this movie more times than not only more than any other anime but maybe more than any other movie full stop!

Visually it’s like a huge mash-up of animations like Wacky Races, Dead Leaves and FLCL meeting Cowboy Bebop in a dark alley with hints of classic live-action racing movies like Death Race 2000 and MadMax and large portions of old skool manga and western comics like Bubblegum Crisis, Dirty Pair (the original, not that later rubbish) and 2000AD. The animation’s both beautifully and meticulously crafted and then totally manic and frantic at the same time.

Scriptwise, well there's a plot in there somewhere but good luck spotting it. Much like SuckerPunch the whole film’s a case of form over function, but when it looks and sounds as good as this, who cares?. It looks great and there’s more than enough mind-blowing visual moments designed to bewilder the audience and stop them from doing any thinking, which is a good plan because, like with the aforementioned SuckerPunch, if you actually manage to grab few moments between getting you eyeballs battered to actually ponder the plot, you’ll realise there's not really a whole lot going on upstairs. But again, who cares.

And DO DO DO watch the dubbed version. US Dub staff really get a chance to shine whenever it comes to anything that requires a dub track heavy on the ol’ “Guts & Glory”, and that’s most certainly what this movie requires. The original Japanese version is ok, don’t get me wrong, but it just doesn’t have that balls-to-the-wall zing that the dub track brings. Also, the dub track manages to add a bit of sparkle to the romance between the male and female leads which the Japanese original was lacking. Mind you, that wasn’t difficult as the Japanese version had one of the most uninteresting and uninspired romances I’d ever seen with even less onscreen chemistry than Ben Affleck coupled with, well, anyone. It also doesn’t hurt that the dub’s liberally peppered with foul language and totally has the “risque” thing covered. This movie certainly ain’t a 15 certificate for nothing.

Extras:

There’s a trailer and a “making of“ featurette… and that’s it. But then, if you buy the “Collectors Edition” Blu-Ray/DVD combo – which is about 5 quid more than the Blu-Ray only version – you also get a 20 page booklet.

Redline is available now from all good high street and online home entertainment retailers. Probably available from most of the crap ones too.