Red Line (2013) User Reviews

6/10: worth a watch

[joseph45-732-714081 · 6/10 · 16 July 2013]

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_park2001 · 6/10 · 20 January 2014]

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_islam · 6/10 · 18 July 2013]

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

[vchimpanzee · 19 October 2015]

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.

The Asylum version would've had a higher rating.

[hivemindenterprises · 1/10 · 19 November 2013]

At first I thought this was an asylum flick. It has all the earmarks of a low budget B movie. Including: prawn star reject acting skills, extremely low budget film set encompassing all of a 20 square foot room space in the whole of the film, no special effects whatsoever, horrible writing, totally predicable plot line, and more epic bad acting. I cannot provide any spoiler, as there is nothing to spoil - the entire movie itself is a spoiler. How the hell did this film have a 25 million budget? it looks like they spent about $10 renting out an abandoned warehouse,took their costumes from donation bins, and paid for the cheapest prawn star reject level actors they could find. I feel sorry for the investors of this film, their money was clearly stolen. No wonder it only made $8 million in the box office, I would've been (expletive deleted) if i'd paid to watch this. I am still (expletive deleted) however for allowing this half- witted movie to consume precious time spent watching a crappy asylum flick(like snakes on a train), which undoubtedly would have far higher entertainment appeal. In fact I have the distinct feeling an asylum cover of this film (presumably entitled "reddish line"), would be far more entertaining.

If you're planning on watching this, Don't.

[billy_punter · 4/10 · 8 August 2013]

If you have watched Open Water 2: Adrift. This is the train version, but funnier. It was classed as a thriller but the most thrilling thing was the little girls name, Dillon. Unintentional comedy was it's best point like the fact that as soon as the train crashed they knew each others names and classic lines like "are you OK" even though a train has just crashed. The death of the person playing the "hero" has me crying in laughter, were he crawled down the side of the train and a rock fell on his head and killed him instantly and no one seemed to care and if they did they didn't show it very well and the lack of background music just made it worse. The woman impaled to the wall had the best part as she just sat down for an hour and half.

Started off great, and ended weak.

[bbickley13-921-58664 · 4/10 · 3 July 2014]

Yeah, it's one of those movies that kinda exploits 9/11.

It starts off pretty cool. I like the opening shot which I feel does a good job of introducing the main characters and telling us what type of people we are dealing with without saying anything. Then again, the characters never really grow out of this intro, making them one dimensional.

Then boom, the train comes to a halt pretty devastatingly. That could have been more terrifying if not for the CGI being a little over zealous, but the destruction was kind of cool.

Then boom, the signs of a terrorist attack turns whitey into complete bigots automatically pointing to the brown skin kid who of course was not who they assume he was.

Seen it done before and done better. At first it seem like this "misunderstanding" was going to be a small part of the movie and it really should have been, but it does not feel like it.

There was some pretty good acting by some of the cast, or maybe not good acting, just people who I really like watching on the screen, but not enough to make it a good flick.

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

[suite92 · 7/10 · 27 November 2013]

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.

A Movie That Lacks Gravitas or an Inspired Script

[Mighty-Morphin · 2/10 · 23 April 2019]

This movie, given the time, effort and coordination by talented individuals would have come across as less wanna-be blockbuster and more of a suspenseful thriller. Sadly, the bland and pedestrian efforts made by John-Paul the Great University staff and Alumni came across as a juvenile rendition of what one thinks of a big budget blockbuster. The inept direction and cinematography didn't help the picture and only added to the faults found throughout this facade.

Two out of ten stars.

Inoffensive Thriller That Didn't Cost A Bomb

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 4 February 2014]

A terrorist bomb explodes on a train on the LA underground . A handful of survivors find themselves trapped in a blocked tunnel . Their worries increase when they realise that another bomb remains unexploded

Another of these obscure thrillers that you sometimes find online RED LINE is as inoffensive as it is forgettable . To be fair you can see that the producers were under financial pressure hence when the bomb does explode there's a blink and you'll miss it scene of carnage then the picture cuts to the aftermath so saving on set destruction and stunts

It does try and be character driven but unfortunately the characters are rather one note . We have the spunky heroine , the ethnic character who suspicion falls upon , the concerned father , the little kid etc but to be fair the cast do make the most of their clichéd parts especially Nicole Gale Anderson

RED LINE is disposable fair but for is acceptable 90 minutes entertainment . If you spent tens of millions of dollars with an all star cast you'd still effectively have he same film so credit that it didn't cost a massive fortune

decent

[mattkratz · 8/10 · 19 July 2015]

This is the type of suspense movie that makes the most out of a limited setting, as the vast majority of the film takes places underground on a subway as a terrorist bomb derails a train, and it looks like the saboteur is among the surviving passengers. This is a good combination of suspense, action, and whodunnit as another bomb is discovered and the remaining passengers try to figure out who blew the train up. Basically, this is a harmless time passer if you like this typer of movie-I might recommend it. I liked it. The cast worked well together, and I found myself on the edge of my seat.

** 1/2 out of ****

I ALWAYS WANTED TO PLAY THE HERO

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 29 August 2018]

The film opens up with a quick 5 second look at a group of passengers on a subway. It evolves to a 10 second look, then the explosion. A group of injured, dead, and non-injured people are trapped. They find a second bomb device with a timer and deduce one of them is the bomber.

The film is partially about stereotypes, although I didn't feel it. With the lack of action, the film should have been about character, but these were people we didn't know much about to begin with. I will say that the acting was fairly decent. The plot and directing etc. was okay except there wasn't any theme to the film, no hook to grab me. A good film, but not exciting.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

this is not the movie I was promised

[jcroak-18174 · 7/10 · 13 February 2021]

I liked this movie, it was well acted and directed and it was a good story line. However it is not about a speeding subway of terror. It was still a good movie, just don't expect an action packed movie, it is not. I think people should see it and make their own minds up.

Rated far too low

[john-connor-freedomfight · 10/10 · 21 October 2013]

There is a very minor spoiler in this review. I consider it insignificant but still just so you know...

There is excellent acting, a strong story without holes, a beautiful girl with great emotional acting making the viewer care and there is suspense throughout the movie, not scary but just right for a movie like this.

I'll give it a ten in its genre, especially since it is obviously low budget also and the filmmakers really made a great job with the budget at hand.

So its a 10 from me especially for the acting of the terrorist as well Nicole Gale Andersons performance was nothing less then excellent.

Well worth it!

[arokes · 10/10 · 1 January 2014]

This movie was well played on all accounts! Seeing fellow Princeton native, Kevin Sizemore was a welcome surprise! The suspense with the unknown villain really kept me interested. Suspenseful music would have made it more spine tingling. Use of the little girl to help in the capture of the villain was something new. The typical profile of the middle eastern man that everyone blamed really took the focus off the real villain! Would like to have seen more in the scenery. Yes it was a train crash, but more fire and dangerous conditions would have added to the drama. Also, could have played on the lack of fresh oxygen. Glad to have the opportunity to watch and hope to see more!

Tense and a Wild Ride

[mandagrammy · 8/10 · 20 March 2021]

Considering that this isn't a big budget thriller, it is actually quite good. Plenty of intense moments where you are kept guessing. Plenty of suspense when you can't be sure who is who and what is what. The ending is a tad anticlimactic, but maybe a bit more realistic than what is usually shown in this kind of film. Although there are no big names in the film, the acting is also quite good. I say, it deserves a thumbs up for this one.

Captivating

[RiaHelen · 8/10 · 13 June 2021]

It only moving objects, fast action scenes and exploding items for 2 hours can excite you, this movie is not for you.

If you're otherwise interested in a captivating movie with an interesting story line and plot twists you will definitely not regret watching it.

Excellent story

[jhmoondance · 9/10 · 25 November 2021]

Great suspense n tension n excellent story. The plot was brilliant.

The acting was superb n the tiny time they had to build up the characters was exceptional.

Only a small confided space in which the movie was set proves you do not need mega buck to make a good film.

Excellent ending with a great twist in the story.

I highly recommend this movie especially if you like suspense tension n a great disaster.