22/08/2011

(WT)F-Zero: Redline!


OH MY GOD THIS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!
IT'S GOT REALLY FAST CARS AND EXPLOSIONS AND NAKED CHICKS AND EXPLOSIONS AND A PUMPING BASSLINE!
WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?!

But seriously, this film was awesome.

You all remember Wacky Races I trust? Well imagine if Wacky Races came out of Japan, was aimed at young adults, was far more brutal and bloody and was really really loud. Because what you've just imagined is Redline.

Going to see Redline at the cinema, courtesy of WeLoveAnime, was one of the most adrenaline-fueled experiences of my life. There are very few moments of down-time in the film, and for the rest of it it's just hard-hitting action, screeching wheels, explosions and that ever-present bassline. Let's just say it's not a film for the faint-hearted.

So I suppose we should delve right into the action. It is immense. The race sequences (i.e. most of the film) are some of the best I've ever seen, absolutely brilliant action, tense and gripping stuff. Obviously hardly anything makes any sense, but that's not what the film is about. The film is about being a manly man. Things blow up a lot. And I mean a lot. In a very satisfactory manner. Alas Redline falls into the trap of current cinema by making it nigh-on impossible to tell what's going on on-screen for a lot of the time because everything's just moving so fast, but in this case it makes sense and you pretty much expect to be left behind by the film.

The art's pretty interesting I have to say - definitely unique - though at first glance it's not the sort of style that I often go in for. Going into the cinema without really knowing what to expect, I must say that upon glancing at the first landscape (featuring the vast variety of characters in the spectators at Yellow Line) I was slightly disappointed that it seemed to be yet another film trying to look quirky by inventing its own array of frankly bizarre species. But the art really grew on me as the film progressed - it matched the grimy atmosphere of the underground racing scene perfectly. Not to mention it looks really good when it explodes, as it often is. Did I mention there are lots of explosions?


With regard to the story, it doesn't get much simpler. "Guy wants to win race". That's basically all you have to know. On the side there is "Military don't want race to be happening" as well, but you can just take that as it comes. When watching this film the last thing you're going to be doing is questioning the premise. You can sure as hell question what's going on on-screen though. It doesn't make a great deal of sense - it's just a rollercoaster ride of set-pieces and evermore ridiculous obstacles to face. But that's part of the experience! One of my favourite lines from this, or any, film is "How dare they invade our airspace using a navigational technology that's only supposed to exist in theory?!", and that's pretty much what you can expect from this.

One word that really springs to mind when trying to describe Redline is 'gratuitous'. This production doesn't do things by halves, and often it goes over and beyond the wholes. The nudity, although very brief, comes out of nowhere and serves absolutely no purpose, leaving you thinking "wait.....what?" Similarly a lot of the violence and explosions are completely unexplainable. The film takes a very no-holds-barred approach, and so literally anything can happen at any moment to shake up the standings of the race. Physics most definitely does not apply here, just look at that guy's quiff.


So yeah, this is a must-buy for me when it comes out on DVD in November (I believe), although I doubt it will be anywhere near as enthralling as it was in the cinema. After all, I don't think my PC speakers can do justice to the majority of that soundtrack. It's very possible that I'm just looking back on this film through a haze, considering how jading watching it actually was, and that it isn't as amazing as I might make it sound, but hey you forget everything else while you're watching it and that's the sign of quality entertainment.

Three thumbs-up!
K

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