Review of Redline

Redline is obviously an anime about racing, and while it opens with the idea that it’s going to be a crazy race because everything’s allowed, that’s actually not why it gets crazy. The true craziness comes from the fact that the race is being held on a planet named Roboworld that doesn’t want them there out of fear of their government secrets being seen. The movie is truly about the Roboworld officials upping the ante until it reaches a ludicrous degree, all while the racers have to not die AND win the race. This is definitely my favorite aspect of the movie since it’s notonly funny, but a unique twist where the other racers aren’t the danger here.

With the Yellowline race right at the start and the Redline race taking up almost half the movie, you get a good amount of racing to keep your focus. However, there is downtime between these races, and this is where I think the movie falters. It has some good points involving JP’s team planning his vehicle for the big race and some racer introductions/interactions, but a lot of it is buildup for romance. Even with all the time justifying its existence, the payoff still isn’t worth it. It felt so unnecessary that I have to wonder if they needed something to fill time. It would’ve been better if that time was spent fleshing out the other racers a bit more since they only really get shown trying to deal with the Roboworld onslaught during the race. Speaking of the racers, I have a nitpick where I wish they weren’t all mostly human/basically human since the movie is filled with cool alien species. Also, the sound mixing isn't too good and it's hard to hear the voices over the engines sometimes.

Even if the love interest aspect of the movie really bogs it down, Redline has plenty of balls-to-the-walls action combined with a fun plot that makes it worth watching if you want to see a good race.