Redline, an animated production by Madhouse Studio, is nothing short of breathtaking. Beautifully hand-drawn, every frame masterfully composed, every character full of life and movement. This movie defines adrenaline fueled action; it will totally engross you with its style and wild, unthrottled momentum. I can easily recommend this to anyone. Even though this is far from perfect, if all you’re looking for is a recommendation, then this is it: go and watch it now. But even though it may be the most beautifully animated movie I’ve seen in quite a long time, there is so much “mehhh” that may keep me from watching it again soon.
watch any given ten minutes from this movie and you’ll see why it deserves its score. The animation is fluid, the drawing shows amazing attention to detail, and the overall sound design is top-notch. The animation itself, not just the scenario and setting, has a sense of internal-logic. There are visual motifs that present themselves at times, and a sense of movement in everything. I’ve heard complaints that it’s too much, but I think that just adds to the charm and gives astute viewers something to look for on later viewings. But watch it all the way through, and you’ll be rolling your eyes whenever there isn’t racing going on. The plot is paper-thin, all of the characters are static and frankly, boring. The only character that changes at all throughout the film is probably the most boring. And while this obviously doesn’t keep it from being enjoyable, I really can’t tell if the studio had actual literary aspiration, or if they simply needed to pad out a 50 minute film.
We follow JP as he prepares for, and eventually races in Redline, a semi-underground race with no rules. He meets and befriends another racer, Sonoshee McLaren, who is the only other racer worth remembering. The others at best are silly and fun, and at worst completely forgettable. The film opens with the Yellowline race, and the final 50ish minutes are of the Redline race. The creators filled the rest in with so much and fleshed out so little, it makes me wonder if they had a plan at all.
We have a love story… between people who the audience barely knows.
We have a story of what inspired JP to race…that is cryptic and doesn’t add much substance to the movie.
We have an evil government… that is a simple antagonist that doesn’t have any meta-commentary or anything else of note to offer.
We have some smaller side-stories… that are as forgettable as the characters that populate them.
The only story that really hit home was that of JP's crooked Frisbee. It did a great job of portraying a man in a tough position who, above all else is most concerned about his friend.
But in total, it is less than the sum of its parts. The sheer amount of pure adrenaline being pushed through the screen is undeniable. A beautiful atmosphere, at times visually oppressive, that is hampered not by a premise that is bad per se, but can be described best as half-hearted. This could have been a much better film if these parts were either expanded or cut, but as it stands, it just leaves the audience rolling their eyes. It’s like Gurren Lagann, but the story is sacrificed for more awesome animation and situations. It’s almost wrong to criticize this movie for that reason, and if it didn’t try to set up these sub-plots in the first place, there wouldn’t be anything to criticize. But because it attempts, and ultimately fails, to grasp the audience on a “deeper” level than the visual and visceral level at which it excels, it lessens the experience. So while it is unfortunately just short of a great movie, it is still a really, really good movie.
