Warning: Screenshots do NOT do the film any justice.
Also, spoilers. Deal wit it.
Also, spoilers. Deal wit it.
So Redline. Where do I begin with this one? How can I begin with this one? Oh wait, I know. It's with this one word: awesomefucktits. This shit is off the walls nuts while still being insanely fun! Redline is a marvelous example of an animation that can tell a visually stunning story while simultaneously body-slamming itself deep within our guts rupturing our awesomeness glands. Madhouse really took it a step further when they finally released this beautiful masterpiece and because I never got to see it when it first came out I'll say that the wait was definitely worth it.
Sweet JP, our main character. Crashin' cars like it's casual.
When you get right down to it, Redline is a movie about one thing: RACING. Okay, really it's about LOVE. The love of animation for something like racing taken to the most extreme levels of pure unfiltered unadulterated pleasure. Redline certainly wasn't made for its deep and riveting plot, rather it's a celebration of all the cool things you can do with 2D animation. From the wacked up character designs to the immensely over-the-top action, Redline aims to please your eye muscles and let me tell you, it's a damn good workout.
Some JP vs Sonoshee action.
The story itself is pretty bland when you read it over on paper. Our tale follows main character "Sweet" JP as he tries to be taken as a serious racer in the open universe. Well, things aren't so SWEET for JP and his childhood friend and team mechanic Frisbee as they owe most of their money to a mafia boss. Throw in some jazzy side characters, including Trava from Takeshi Koike's previous work, mix in some insane RoboWorld sentai-esque villains, include some Akira level TETSUO!!, blow your face up with amazing visuals, and top it all off with a highly spectacular soundtrack and somehow you get the something that is Redline.
Our REDLINE racers.
RoboWorld's colorful villains, including Negaverse Robot Captain America.
One thing I really want to commemorate Redline for is its pacing. You aren't super overwhelmed with too many extended action sequences because the film gives you frequent breaks. Something about most movies these days that drive me up the wall (no pun intended) is that there aren't many breaks from the action. If you don't take a break once in a while then even the most hotblooded and hyper-intense scenes begin to lose their edge. Redline is simply brilliant at this because every so often we get a chance to see what the RoboWorld officials are plotting, how the crowd is reacting, and what the fuck the magical princess is up to.
Some light romance between our stars.
The best way to start any car race:
plummeting from a dropship as thousands of guns are firing at you.
Fuck your rockets, I got a gun!
Another point I wanted to touch upon with this movie is that it makes no excuses and doesn't take itself too seriously. Tons of random shit occurs and for the most part we aren't given any explanations. Sometimes shit just happens. I mean the whole plot surrounding RoboWorld's Zone X7 and their bioweapon Funky Boy seems like it's its own movie that was interupted by the Redline race. Hell, there's even a rebel faction that's trying to unleash Funky Boy and turn it against RoboWorld's president, but our movie here doesn't give a shit and just blasts on by. Then there's the magical Supergrass royal family and the Super Boins sisters. They have magic. And what the fuck? Seriously this movie takes many MANY creative liberties for fun!
Crying gives him power.
Machine Head being a machine head.
Boob Car Mech Thing. Thanks Super Boins sisters!
Giving literal meaning to the phrase: "Winning by a hair."
My final assessment? If you haven't seen it yet, GO NOW. Don't stop. Don't turn around. Don't even think about not doing it. Just fucking watch this flick! Worth it. Every second. LOVE. The End.
LOVE.
