Redline (2007)

Director: Andy Cheng

Starring: Nathan Phillips, Nadia Bjorlin, Angus Macfadyen, Eddie Griffin, Tim Matheson, Jesse Johnson, Barbara Niven, Denyce Lawton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Fear Nothing. Risk Everything.

Plot: A gorgeous young automobile fanatic--and front to the hottest unsigned band on the West coast--finds herself caught up in illegal drag-racing competitions organized by exotic car fanatics.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Looking at the IMDb rating and reviews, and Rotton Tomatoes where it has a 0% score, you'd think this was a moldy turd of a movie.  That obviously didn't stop me.  Normally I'd stay clear of a picture of this type - car racing with a bunch of pretty people.  It sounds lame, typical and boring but because I'm a big fan of Tim Matheson, I gave it a shot and it's not that bad.  There's a little bit of use of split screen during one of the races but they never used that technique again which is too bad because I dig it when directors throw that into their pictures (when it's used to good effect, of course).  The songs that Natasha sings are incredibly cheesy and tongue-in-cheek.  The lyrics are all car metaphors and they're hilarious.

As far as everything else, it's OK.  The acting is fine for what this is, the story serves it's purpose, the soundtrack is loud and upbeat, and it ends as you would expect.  No one has reinvented the wheel, here, which is just like most every other movie.  It's a formula picture that's completely harmless and not all that bad.  Oh, and Tim Matheson has a sizable role and he's a lot of fun.  There are plenty of movies at your local theater right now that are worse than this.  Don't listen to the reviews...even this one.