Going into Redline I didn't really know what to expect. I was crazy hyped to see it after watching all the trailers and previews not knowing what the actual product would be like. The main thing to know about Redline is that if you watch it expecting a very pretty movie, that is just what you will get.
Redline is about an illegal race in a sci-fi universe where cars are going out of style due to the new emergence of hovercars. There are also many different nations just recovering from intergalatic war, but none of that really matters. Redline is actually about cars driving fast and really cheesy romance. Nobody really cares about silly things like "plot" and "backstory" anyway when we have cars and large breasted women right? I admit, the cars and large breasted women look fantastic. The main thing this movie has going for it are gorgeous HD hand drawn animation. This is probably one of, if not the best, looking anime ever made. Look at this image, this is a screenshot from the movie, it is currently my wallpaper.
This is what the movie looks like ALL THE TIME. It is unreal how great it looks.
Looks aside I have some real problems with Redline. I mentioned before that overall the plot is shallow. This wouldn't really be a problem if the movie wasn't completely schizophrenic with the story. Characters that don't really need screentime are given copious amounts of it while really cool side characters get maybe thirty seconds of glory. In the end the whole thing feels lopsided, side plots are mentioned and then forgotten frequently. Entire characters that are supposed to be legitimate rivals to the main characters are sacrificed to the extend the vomit worthy hollywood romance. Another huge pimple on Redline's face is the ending, or really the lack thereof. The race ends, and the movie ends, that is it. No follow up or celebration party, just race over, bam, credits. The movie as a whole just feels (puts on sunglasses) rushed...
The real trick to enjoying Redline is just to turn your brain off and accept it as thinly veiled eye candy. Overall, it is a good movie, but it falls short of becoming the next anime classic.
