Review of Redline

Out of 100 nobles watching… 98 were impressed! 2 saw those CG spaceships Redline is a movie about space racing. It is an animated depiction of “now this is podracing!” the likes of which will probably never be produced again. Madhouse spent an absurd amount of time and money to make this project and it shows. The nobles joke about the CG spaceships, but really there isn’t a bad shot in the film really. Redline is an excellent example that awkward rotoscoping and janky CG is truly either a time or money issue in the animation pipeline, because Madhouse in 2009 incorporated many different techniques alongside itsover 120,000 hand drawn frames and it all looks pretty great.

The harshest criticism I’ve seen of Redline is that it is not very complex, but to me that is why it is such a masterpiece. The movie does not include a word of dialogue or a scene it does not need to for the audience to get the idea. Simple does not equal bad, and this movie was a nice straightforward plot about people wanting to be the best space racers in the universe. Scenes are all given their time to breath, the movies amazing score taking time to sit out completely and let two characters sit in silence before awkwardly starting a conversation with each other to break the tension. There’s a romance in the film, but it’s not half-baked or a forced nothingburger. They are individuals who have a history and get the simple and clean scenes needed to establish an air of flirtatious romance. There is a small b-plot that tries to establish some stakes outside of THE BIG RACE, and it was certainly the weakest link of the movie, but honestly even that has a suitable payoff that works its way into the finale.

Redline is an absolute powerhouse of a film and demands to be watched with as big a screen and as loud a sound system as possible. Characters constantly shaking on screen from the roar of their vehicles engines, bumping EDM blasting every time a car is in frame, and the presence of mind to not just be mindless racing porn. Instead, choosing to properly air out and build to the big payoff of the races in the movie. It’s great. It’s perfect. I want to put my face in it and snort a line of it. MachineHEEEEEAAAAAADDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!