Red Line (1995)

Director:

John Sjogren

Writers:

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Plot:

A car-thief is seen stealing, and is blackmailed into stealing more cars for someone else's profit.

Plot Keywords:

Voyeur | Contraband | Chevrolet Corvette | Mexican Standoff | Sexual Promiscuity

Cast

Chad McQueen	...	Jim
Dom DeLuise	...	Jerry
Michael Madsen	...	Mr. Lawrence
Roxana Zal	...	Gem
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Keller
Corey Feldman	...	Tony
Robert Z'Dar	...	Gene
Julie Strain	...	Crystal
Billy Million	...	Frank
Chuck Zito	...	Dick
William Buzick III	...	Keller's Guard
Stewart Goddard	...	Keller's Guard
Josh Silver	...	Car Wash Yuppie
Steven Halter	...	Carwash Employee #1
Pat Sjogren	...	Carwash Employee #2

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime:

102 min | Germany:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Caroli Pictures

Trivia:

A 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille was used to destroy a Porsche 911 when stealing the Corvette containing the contraband.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In scenes where the left side of the white Jaguar is ramming the right side of Jim's dark Mustang, the Mustang never moves. It is very evident that the Mustang is being pulled on a trailer while rammed, as the Mustang is at least 12 to 18 inches higher than it should be when compared to the Jaguar. Also, in subsequent scenes, the Mustang shows no damage where it was supposedly rammed.

Movie Connections:

References Bullitt (1968)

Soundtrack:

Little Hercules

Not exactly great, but good enough.

As a fan of car chase films, as soon as I heard about this one I had to see it. I was annoyed that when I tried to watch the trailer on the internet that it wouldn't play, which meant I couldn't get a taster of it. But now I finally own the film on DVD and I have to say that I'm glad I do as RED LINE, while not exactly a great car chase film, is enjoyable enough.

I think it's unfair to try and compare Chad McQueen to his father. I mean, we might as well face it. Chad will never be as good as his father Steve. But I think he should be judged for his own qualities. In this film he is very good in the action hero role, and handles the stunt driving excellently. One problem I had with the car chases was that at times it seems the cars aren't going very fast at all. But they are still exciting. It was a bit cheeky how they have Chad drive a green Mustang like the one his dad drove in BULLITT at one point, but the cars on display are all beauties, especially the contraband-carrying Corvette that the main body of the plot revolves around.

Roxana Zal is quite good as leading lady Gem and Jan-Michael Vincent is very menacing as main bad guy Keller. Strangely though, MIchael Madsen who is given very high billing in the credits is barely involved in the movie, but is still very good. It's a shame Dom DeLuise and Corey Feldman didn't have more to do. I love the way that Chad manages to stitch up both sets of bad guys looking for the Corvette's cargo in the end.

In short, RED LINE is a good enough way to spend an hour and a half in my opinion.