Redline (2009/2010-japan), the Japanese Wacky Racer movie on Acid.

Directed by Takeshi Koike | Written by Katsuhito Ishii ( Known for' The Taste Of Tea', an all time favorite of mine)

Screenplay: Katsuhito Ishii - Yōji Enokido - Yoshiki Sakurai

Produced By: Madhouse

Awards

• Achievement Award; Newport Beach Film Festival

Source: IMDB

Kwenton Bellete of Twitch Film described this movie as "Speed Racer on crack", while the people that haven't seen this funky high definition marvel are scratching their heads to comprehend that one sentence or are utterly excited to watch this film (please be the latter) , will think back on that specific sentence and undoubtably think that THAT sentence, describes the movie to a T. Because that's what Redline is; A funky bright super-speed interstellar death race held every 5 years portrayed in a slightly mature and comic fashion with visual popping screenplay (and oh so funky !).

Sweet JP and his sweet comb

The main protagonist is Sweet JP a Retro greaser who refuses to mount guns and other arsenal on his car (hence the name "sweet" JP). But what he doesn't have in gear he makes up in skills as he is by far one of the greatest pilot due to his perseverance and ability. But then again those are much needed skills when you compete with a heavily modified TransAm against things that can only be called spacecrafts-on-wheels, yet even that feels like an understatement.
Sweet JP races while unknowing that his sole purpose is to lose at the end so that he and his auto-mechanic/Best friend Frisbee (who rigged it)  can pay-off some shady people, something that will last t'ill the beginning of the Redline causing distrust and suspense as the movie turns from good to extreme. Why? Because the hosting planet of the interstellar phenomena  Robotworld; a militarized cyborg planet with few low class inhabitants is threatening to hunt down any man who dares participating so to conceal their biologic weapon Funky Boy.
This is also the reason how Sweet JP, who lost due to the fact it was a fixed race (I'm unsure if he knew his best friend sabotaged his race. Mainly because he still tried to win the Yellowline and he almost did before his engine went 'Boom-chaka-laka'. It is still an enigma for me but there are events hinting to the fact that he knew )was able to participate because two racers withdrew from the competition. 

The turmoil between Robotworld's vast military forces and the insane racers is topped by the Racing Guru who won  5 consecutive times while becoming part of his enormous machine over time (fittingly named " Machine Head"). The death-race becomes a battlefield for victory and a challenge for Sweet JP and the beautiful Yellow Line winner by default  Sonoshee.

Local Inhabitants of the planet hosting the 'Yellowline', the less important competition before the 'Redline' (Note the sharp Visuals and the dark shadows emphasizing the lively colors in a contradictory fashion, a real Madhouse feature)

The Races are chaotic and  ordered at the same time as you feel the heat and suspense rise with every heartbeat. The stunning visuals change with the dramatic change of speed and so do the cars ( JP's Trans Am was able to spin so fast it could go over a large surface of water). Every car -with the exception of JP's- has gadgets and secondary capabilities which are revealed at a certain climax as you follow the protagonists.

There is a romance rooted deep withing the premise of this movie in which our racing nut JP falls for a talented girl who he knew in his childhood, of course the cliché has it that she does not remember. The romance worked but was plain and misplaced throughout the movie. Seriously all the dept was sucked up by the main event leaving the romantic side of this movies with scraps and bits. None the less it did not hinder the experience one bit but it did not change it either with the exception of the final quarter of the movie.

Rating:

**** Viewtiful Racing! A tripping death-race!

A movie with jaw dropping visuals known only to Madhouse. Al thought the movie did it's job as Interstellar death-race with a touch of originality weapon and car wise, it felt plain on the overall execution of the dialogues and dept of the story making it lose a star. Nonetheless a must  watch! Did you see it? Please comment about what you thought of it!

• This movie is not meant for children! Please take that into consideration.

M.

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