Out of all of the months of the yr, January in all probability sucks essentially the most, proper? Sorry to individuals who had been born this month, nevertheless it simply is not an excellent one, at the least within the UK anyway. The vacations are over, it is freezing chilly and moist, and it is a useless interval for good motion pictures or video games more often than not. No surprise January blues is a phrase that exists within the first place! However, even when there’s nothing new to look at, there’s at all times one thing previous – and personally, I am unable to suggest a greater movie to select your spirits up than the 2009 racing anime Redline.
I’ve to confess, I solely watched Redline for the primary time simply the opposite day, so I am a bit late, however fairly truthfully I’ve by no means come throughout a movie that so completely makes you wanna say “hell yeah” each single step of the way in which. For people who have not heard of it earlier than, Redline is the function movie directorial debut of Takeshi Koike, who you would possibly recognise if you happen to’ve seen Lupin the IIIrd movies like Goemon’s Blood Spray or Fujiko’s Lie. It’s also simply some of the visually distinct anime I’ve ever seen, utilising thick, deep black traces and shadows, accentuating all method of alien designs.
The movie is about within the far future, at a time the place planetary house journey is not any drawback, aliens are a dime a dozen, and automobiles with engines as we all know of are a factor of the previous. Even so, there are nonetheless racers on the market which have a need to race vehicles together with your typical 4 wheels and engine, leading to a collection of races the place the prize is realizing you are the quickest, culminating in a single single race referred to as the Redline.
There’s simply a lot about this movie that’ll put you in temper. For one, there’s its protagonist “Candy” JP, a human racer with a pompadour so tall you would be forgiven for pondering he was sporting a prime hat. He is largely an archetypal character, positively borrowing from that western greaser look, with a assured and infrequently cocky angle to match, however he is sort and caring sufficient to steadiness out stated cockiness – plus he is a rattling good driver, too, so the arrogance is earned.
He is completely suited to a movie that actually goes balls to the wall with its animation, doing issues with vehicles that clearly aren’t bodily potential – like one scene the place JP spins his automotive so quick he skips throughout a lake like a superbly thrown rock – but irrespective of how on the market it goes, you may’t assist however keep locked in your complete time.
To explain the movie as vibrant might be doing it a disservice, and to explain it as solely kinetic and never something greater than that’s nearly mendacity. It’s a movie the place racing is a very powerful factor within the galaxy, with all of its highs and lows, and by the tip you will be pondering the very same factor – it is nearly sufficient to get me into actual racing, however that does not have conditions the place a planet of half-robot-aliens are attempting to kill the racers to guard army secrets and techniques.
Oh, did I not point out that half? Yeah, whereas the entire racing is happening, there’s additionally a complete factor with the inhabitants of the planet the Redline race is going down on not wanting it to be there as a result of they’re harbouring some horrible weaponry that might in all probability represent a battle crime. Ridiculous is really the one acceptable calendar phrase of the day to explain this movie.
Redline is a movie you actually do not must suppose very onerous about, it is largely concerning the experience than it’s concerning the vacation spot, and that is truthfully good for a month like January. I would not describe it as straightforward on the eyes, given simply how speedy the animation could be at sure factors, however it’s completely straightforward viewing – it is also on Prime Video within the UK, so you do not have a lot of an excuse to not watch it. I promise, by the point the credit hit, you will have stated “hell yeah” to your self at the least as soon as.