Redline [DVD]

Redline is the most popular race in the universe. It is held once every five years and sees the best drives competing in a deadly no-holds-bared battle to the finish line. This time around the race is going to take place on the militaristic Roboworld who have declared that they will take out any and all drivers that dare to take part in the race. The extreme danger of the venue causes some drivers to drop out allowing the reckless `Sweet JP' enter to face the galaxies best drivers, the Roboworld military and underworld dealings.

`Redline' is a fantastically entertaining anime with some spectacular visuals, a light but entertaining plot and a good soundtrack. The animation does have a somewhat retro feel but it suits the film perfectly and is just as beautifully animated as any other modern anime. The entire thing is beautifully designed and as visually spectacular as you would expect from a film that apparently took seven years to make. The characters, like the plot, may be a bit underdeveloped in but they are still quite interesting and the shear visual experience of the film more than makes up for `Redlines' faults.

If you are looking for a deep plot and well developed characters then this definitely isn't the anime for you but if you want excitement, insane visuals and adrenaline fuelled racing then `Redline' is perfect.

Redline is a work of art, drenched in adrenaline, petrol fumes and polished chrome.

The story, such as it is, covers a series of illegal road races across the galaxy and the racers, mechanics and agents who take part. We follow "Sweet" JP, a rockabilly-alike racer who just can't catch a lucky break. Can he win the Yellowline race and qualify for the most famous race around, the Redline? (Hmmmm, tricky!)

Based on plot alone, you'd be hard-pressed to award it two stars. However, that would short-change a movie that is about excitement and speed - I do not like movies where you've got to "turn off your brain" but this doesn't patronise you with a bad plot to overlook: it bypasses a plot altogether and takes you to the final scene from the off!

The animation is beautifully hand-drawn, bursting with vibrant colour. The artistic style strongly reminds me of the early-90s Manga animes - a welcome throwback when most modern productions generally eschew crazy aliens, biomech monstrosities and supercharged chrome hotrods. The sound is also impressive - pulsing techno music accompanies the action as the excitement builds. The English dub is seamless, utilising the standard pool of dub voice actors.

Seemingly influenced by Death Race 2000, Wacky Races and Speed Racer, Redline is essentially one exciting chase scene from start to finish. We watch as entertaining racers, lifted above their paper-thin characterisation by the animation, try to out-gun, out-smart and out-accelerate the next competitor.

Watch it when you're in the mood for some excitement, turn up the sound, grab a beer and enjoy this decadent (seven years in production!) masterpiece.

Going against modern conventions of animation, Redline was created using hand-drawn sketches - over 100,000 of them - rather than computer graphics. The result is a film of gorgeous style, setting, colour and visual complexity. The extraordinary level of detail isn't restricted to the visuals; every sound has been painstakingly mapped onto the film, while the backing soundtrack (which sounds like a Japanese version of Ministry's 'Psalm 69') was custom-created for the scenes, ensuring that the music always fits the action.

The story centres around Redline, a once-every-five-years racing event with only one rule: first across the finish line is the winner. Most vehicles are heavily armed (à la Mad Max or Death Race 2000), but the main protagonist - an adrenaline-junkie racer named JP - refuses to carry weapons, instead insisting that he has the talent to win on speed alone. JP's pacifist attitude has earned him the outstanding nickname of the Very Sweet Weaponless Prince. Visually, JP is a likeable anime hybrid of John Travolta in Grease crossed with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. His friendship with (wonderfully named) fellow racer Cherry Boy Hunter Sonoshee McLaren, develops into a love interest which runs parallel to the main story of the race. On the surface, Redline is a high-octane, heavily stylised mixture of the movies Death Race 2000 and Mad Max, the cartoon Wacky Races, and the computer games Total Wipeout and Unreal Tournament. Look deeper than the high-speed races across sweeping vistas and rocky mesas, however, and you'll find more going on. There's a backdrop of military tyranny that parallels our modern world, with corrupt forces masquerading as the 'good guys' while attempting to silence the voices of freedom. Additionally, a Cinderella story develops between Sonoshee and JP. When Sonoshee drops an earring, JP mounts his supersonic motorcycle and goes for a midnight ride, just to leave the earring and some flowers on Sonoshee's doorstep. The futuristic race is simply the context against which the plot is set. The real theme of the film is a timeless one: love and friendship can conquer all.

Redline is a meticulously crafted work of art. It has style and substance. Rich in allegorical elements and moral themes, the film is a masterwork of anime.

Viewers can have additional fun by comparing the English voice-over with the subtitles (which seem to be direct translations of the original Japanese). The differences are sometimes considerable and often amusing.