Forum - View topicREVIEW: Redline Blu-Ray
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Great Rumbler
 Posts: 334 Location: Oklahoma |
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I just got back from picking up the Bluray, there's just no way I can possibly continue to be anime fan and not slap down some bucks on this as soon as the opportunity came up.
I even avoided the temptation to spoil myself early by downloading a fansub! |
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SoandSo
 Posts: 204 |
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The main thing I really remember loving about this film, and it's something I rarely see mentioned, is the bizarre, exhilirating unspoken camraderie between the racers. There are rivalries, sure, they try to blast each other occasionally(it IS basically Wacky Races on Japanese opiom) but most of the dirty tricks are mainly speed boosts and such that help them improve on their standing and not so much dick over the others. There's no Dick Dastardly lying in wait with a dynamite plunger on a bridge, no jealous champion bigshot whose actually a petty loser who hates competition and will do anything to protect his top spot and win his precious trophy. The total inverse, in fact.
By the final five or ten minutes there's an almost unheard-of joy of competition and the sheer thrill of the race, thanks largely cause spoiler[every racer who started is still blasting towards the finish line at the end,] that catapults the visceral color and energy of it all straight into the stratosphere, and you right along with it sunk into your chair from the sheer G-force. It makes things less clear-cut, and so much more thrilling and powerful for it. For a sec there, you may even question who's gonna win. That's what really drove the point home to me this film was something special. |
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Oneeyedjacks
 Posts: 307 |
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A perfect review for a perfect movie. My hat is off to you Zac.
The only minus I would give Redline is that were NEVER going to see anything like it in anime ever again. Last edited by Oneeyedjacks on Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I'll have to pick this up sometime soon to see if it's worth its hype. Even if the premise doesn't interest me that much, I do like the idea of it having hand-drawn animation, and a lot of the love it's getting is from people I tend to trust the taste of.
Funny that the dub is "fifteening". |
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Fletcher1991
 Posts: 514 Location: Long Island, NY |
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It was good but I was kind of let down because of all the hype it was getting. I agree the animation and art was spectacular but the story itself didn't really pull me in. I might pick this up anyways though just because of how beautiful it looks, I want to see it on my hdtv.
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Whats_Ur_Name
Posts: 5 Location: Connecticut, USA |
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Zac, your review was excellent. It told the reader everything they need to know, without spoiling it, without, overselling it, and without underselling it. You should be proud Zac, because you just lead someone to go see one of best things they will ever see.
As for me, I already pre-ordered it. Because I love that damn movie. I love the graphics, I love the soundtrack, I love the sheer amount of effort poured into everything . I even love the part where the word "Love" just pops out of nowhere, and you realize that the whole movie was an allegory for sex and conception. I love it, I love, love, love it. To say how much I love it would require me to shatter my throat in the intensity of the screams of expletives that would get me kicked of the ANN forms. |
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GWOtaku
 Posts: 678 |
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Fabulous review. I fully agree, and I particularly appreciate how this takes a moment to note the substance & quality of storytelling in the film. As animation & as a demonstration of amazingly imaginative design work Redline is damn near peerless, but this is also solid as a movie, and it would be so even if the animation were less exceptional and simply on par with its contemporaries.
The dub sounded appealing to me, but I'm fresh off of that so I don't have the Japanese track to compare it to just yet. I do think criticisms of the script stand, but fortunately this is a relatively minor gripe. Even the swearing is limited to just a few occasions. Some of my favorite moments in this came during the calm parts of the film. Funny, that. |
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Saffire
 Posts: 1256 Location: Iowa, USA |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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Hmm, on the plus side, I haven't yet placed that order I plan to for some anime so it's not too late to change things (and that bit of anime will likely do me well for at least 6 months, nothing more I really want coming out) but...
I don't have a Blu-ray player, should I wait or just buy it on DVD? It'd be a total blind buy for me btw. |
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Vracer111
 Posts: 194 |
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Very nice review of Redline. The only thing I didn't see mentioned about the English Dub Dolby True HD surround track on the Blu-Ray is how the actual sound quality is not as good as the Japanese Dolby True HD surround track. Still waiting on my US release to come in, but I have the UK release (because US is not getting a limited/special edition) which is the exact same thing other than region codes, and on that the sound mix is a few Db lower and not as clear as the Japanese track. Video is on par with the Japanese Blu-Ray release though, you can not tell any difference between them!
I have the same complaint about the English dub as the review: JP is JP in the Japanese dub, a smooth and cool dude. In the English dub JP is more a hillbilly-greaser/surfer hybrid... really changes his character. Sonoshee also looses some of her charm and elegance going from Japanese to English... |
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Melanchthon
 Posts: 550 Location: Northwest from Here |
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And that is my biggest complaint about it, because that's what I like the most in my science fiction. It's not that I'm saying it's not great. I'm just saying it would have been nice to do something with the 40 minutes between the Yellowline and the Redline other than aimless meandering.
I can fully understand why old-school fans love this. But I have never seen Akira or Vampire Hunter D. I don't have that emotional connection or nostalgia to that time period. Add to that a story that I found to be no more than 'better than average' and Redline left me flat. Now, don't get me wrong, I still think Redline was one of the best anime of 2011, but in my opinion it is not as much this as it was this. |
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DRWii
 Posts: 642 |
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I liked it, but clearly not as much as others. Part of it may be hype, but I think most of it was just how much the movie drags. I find it really ironic how early reviews from when it was still on the festival circuit said it was clearly "not about characters or story," and yet the majority of the movie is character focused. It doesn't help that spoiler[the Redline comes to a dead stop in the middle]. Also didn't care for the ending (spoiler[which acts like the entire movie was a love story when it really only felt like that for the last 10-15 minutes]).
Still liked it, still worth seeing, but I'm definitely not in a hurry to pick it up. |
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Vracer111
Posts: 194 |
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@ classicalzawa, How much were you planning on spending on anime? A nice refurbished Panasonic Blu-Ray player (DMP-BD35K, DMP-BD65, or DMP-BD75) should only run you $80-$100 and are extremely good units. If there's ever one anime title to get on Blu-Ray, Redline is it! The DVD is nice (watched the DVD that came with the UK Collectors Edition) but it just can't compare to the Blu-Ray. On Blu-Ray the color is more vibrant and totally bleed free, details are razor sharp with no aliasing issues, and the difference between lossy and lossless audio tracks is very noticeable (with a good audio setup.) Review's I've seen online for the DVD release recommend going with the Blu-Ray version...The Blu-Ray gets A/A+s for video while the DVD gets B's/C's in comparison. |
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nechronius
 Posts: 275 Location: So Cal, USA |
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Redline is a lot of fun and feels almost like an anachronistic throwback to a different generation. The visuals were a real treat for sure, but I also think the overall storyline is its weakest component.
One other artistic touch that while looking cool, seemed kind of absurd after a bit of thought. Even when the drivers are racing inside vehicles with sealed cockpits, you'll still see fluids being blown back from their faces as though they were driving an open cockpit machine. The lead character, JP, is especially prone to this just in the opening minutes alone (blood, sweat, tears, all streaking back from his face), which made the racing sequences both guffaw-worthy and entertaining. |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2267 |
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My pre-order from amazon came in today and I plan to watch it over the weekend. I was really salivating over this one with the few clips I saw and some of the positive reactions I had read before. But this:
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