Red Line (2013) Reviews

• 6/10: worth a watch

  joseph45-732-7140812013-07-16

  Despite the cover art and story-line, which screamed of "fast-paced action," the film was actually not like that at all. There were plenty of long face-shots and contemplative scenes; people just thinking and talking. And the story-line of "speeding out of control" is pure baloney designed to sucker you in; since in reality the train stays MOTIONLESS throughout the movie. Not to mention that "the saboteur among them" is an unnecessary spoiler. Rather, I prefer the other blurb, of "brought to a slamming stop...must deal with the greater danger that soon faces them" (which was written by yours truly). I much preferred Money Train and Pelham 123 (both the 1974 original and the remake), which I gave 8/10. Red Line is a 6/10 for me.

• "We're all suspects"

  doug_park20012014-01-20

  A bomb goes off in an LA subway, and the survivors try to keep it together, care for the injured, and find a way out, all the while wondering who, if any, amongst them is the terrorist. For a very low budget film that some college students and faculty made as a project--something I didn't realize until after I'd seen it--REDLINE is quite good. All the same, the acting by just about everyone is dry-tepid, and most of the lines sound read rather than said. Plot-wise, it pretty much follows the formula, with the sort of twists that are meant to be surprising but are well-trodden to the point of being quite predictable. Who/who doesn't survive is another predictable factor. The notes at the beginning of the film cite some statistics about domestic terrorism that seem to promise the film will have a broader scope than it actually does. Partly by necessity, I suppose, the view is quite limited and claustrophobic. Some brief shots of the outside world--rescue efforts, news flashes, etc--during the course of the film would have been a big plus, but I can see how they didn't have the resources for that. More solid clues as to the motivations of the culprit would also have helped. Oh, well. REDLINE is a decent thriller if you like this sort of thing and aren't too demanding.

• Average Thriller

  niaz_islam2013-07-18

  As a thriller movie this one have adequate pace and twist. This is an average movie which worth watching when you are in light mode. Overall acting is quite descent. I think I like the absence of the over acting. Though the main theme was not very strong and it is somewhat vague that what was the main reason for the bombing. It was also not clear that what the terrorist was doing. Script was not bad but there was the need of some strong dialogues. Towards the climax everything happened very slowly and it was too detail, where speed could do so much better. Bottom line I enjoyed the movie :)

• Exciting thriller with moral dilemmas

  vchimpanzee2015-10-19

  Tori is on the phone with her father and they are not getting along. So she is pretty upset already when she gets on the subway. At some point we learn about others who are getting on the subway too, or at least we think we do. Some of these people might not be telling the truth. But here is what we think we know. Adam proposes to Rubina and is giving her a ring, but they are Muslim and a ring is not a part of their tradition. Boyd is an actor. Mason is a veteran of Iraq. Al is an engineering student of Brazilian heritage. Sam is a history teacher who is married to Kathy. Yolanda is a medical professional of some kind who can't speak much English. And Jared and Kristine have a young daughter Dillon. Something terrible happens and people die. At first I thought there was a shooter but it later becomes clear there must have been an explosion. Apparently the train car is on its side and there's no easy way out. There is no one in charge and these ordinary people have to find the solutions to their problems. Some are hurt enough that they might die. Tori calms down and copes quite well. Jared thinks Kristine (who stays remarkably calm considering everything) is worse off than Adam and insists Kristine be helped first. Whatever is wrong with Kristine, something is always blurry. I saw this happen in another movie where someone was so seriously injured she died. The important thing is Kristine is trapped. So is Sam, but he isn't hurt, as long as he can be freed. Kathy is dead and so is a police officer. Eventually, everyone who is able to help can get involved. Yolanda, as the only one who seems to have medical training, does what she can, and Kristine can translate for her, but help is needed from outside and the group needs a way to escape. So there is a lot of work to do, and risks must be taken. And then someone discovers a second bomb. Worse yet, what if one of the group set off the first bomb and is ready to kill more people? What if the terrorist actually intends to commit suicide and does not have a way out? The group must deal with many moral dilemmas. Should they figure out who did the deed and keep that person from killing again? How much should they do to this person? And what if more than one of them might be involved? This movie keeps things exciting and I was on the edge of my seat a lot. The acting performances are good, particularly that of the person playing the terrorist. The excitement of solving the mystery and the urgency of preventing more deaths make this quite entertaining. And of course there are the moral dilemmas. Even young Dillon does something quite surprising. I think it's worth seeing.

• Survivors of a terrorist attack on a train cooperate to outwit the bomber.

  suite922013-11-27

  Passengers on a train in Las Angeles get derailed by a bomb. While tending to the wounded, they find a second bomb. They try to figure out how to stop it. They also guess that the bomber is still among them. The bomber does fairly well at covering his tracks. They accuse a young man who looks middle eastern, but who grew up in the USA. He's not the bomber, of course. With some courageous action, they keep themselves from getting blown up. Do they make it through to rescue? -------Scores-------- Cinematography: 8/10 OK, though rather dark. Sound: 8/10 No particular problems, but some better incidental music might have helped the dramatic tension. Acting: 7/10 John Billingsley was great as the villain. Many of the other actors gave just middling performances. Screenplay: 8/10 Has a beginning, middle, and an end, plus reasonable dialog.