At some point in the future, world governments have everyone under strict control (hmmm...) so Wade (Hauer) and Merrick (Dacascos) work as smugglers. While in Russia on what seems like a routine smuggling operation, Merrick shoots Wade and leaves him for dead. What Merrick forgot is that this is the future, so, using some form of biomechanical technology, Wade is resurrected. All Wade wants is the money he lost to Merrick during their smuggling, and if there's time, maybe some revenge. He then teams up with a woman named Katya (Scio), and off they go on their mission. Coming up against a large criminal syndicate, they get into a lot of shootouts and fights. Will Wade finally draw a REDLINE in the sand? Not to be confused with any of the other myriad movies with the name Redline (most of which are about cars), this one, of course, is the Nu-Image production starring Rutger Hauer and Mark Dacascos. Tom Berenger, "Turbo" and the rest of the gang from Cutaway (2000) are nowhere to be seen. Sure, Redline shopped for its influences at the same store as everybody else: Robocop (1987), Total Recall (1990), Demolition Man (1993), and, of course, Blade Runner (1982) - but thanks to healthy doses of violence and nudity, it's a largely entertaining watch. At worst, it's a painless one, anyway.Rutger Hauer is an underrated actor and a fan favorite, and he looks a lot like Robert Redford in this particular outing. Actually, better than Redford looks now. Of course, Wade is ex-CIA and since he's the hero, he's subjected to his Prerequisite Torture, but on the bright side, when he comes up against what can only be described as Corey Haim-style Rollerboys, it appears he calls the lead Rollerboy "Butthead" and they all go blading away in fear for their lives. It helps a lot that his sidekick is Yvonne Scio, and that she shoots and beats up the baddies with the best of them. Fellow fan favorite Dacascos, here as the antagonist, complete with goatee and accent, provides good balance to the film overall, though he only displays his Martial Arts abilities in one scene. He previously teamed up with director Takacs with the prior year's Sabotage (1996), and evidently Takacs liked what he saw, so he used him again here. It worked out well.Yes, there is a lot of clichéd dialogue and many scenes are very darkly lit, but because it was a movie about the future that was made in the 90's, naturally we get some VR. It wouldn't be complete without the VR, of course. Plus, Redline was ahead of its time with scenes of drones attacking people, characters use FaceTime, and a woman who looks suspiciously like Hillary Clinton is "The President". Hopefully not all their predictions come true. But all in all it has a nice pace, especially considering its running time, so it adds up to being one of the better Nu-Image titles out there. It compares favorably to other 90's Rutger future movies such as Split Second (1992). The end result is better-than-average DTV fare, especially for its late-90's vintage (not the best time for DTV, for those who don't know).Featuring the enjoyable and wonderfully incongruous end-credits song "Dub 1 Dub" by the Axel Boys Quartet, if you see Redline on DVD cheap, don't be afraid to add it to your collection.

Gee, what's not to like about this movie? The acting? It's serviceable enough considering this isn't a big budget film. Rutger Hauer's finest work is not demonstrated here, but still this is a Rutger Hauer film which means that it will be a bit different from the regular straight-to-video junk you see. The shootouts were laughable? Of course they were! Shootouts are always laughable in every movie in which a hero survives totally unscathed. The two notable exceptions are "Saving Private Ryan" and "Tombstone". There are a few others, but at least Hauer and Scio aren't sliding down glaciers on a car fender or something of that ilk.Let's put things in proper perspective. When you have a movie that sounds good before it goes on paper, but doesn't look nearly as good after the ink has dried you find ways to make it not a complete waste of time. So you do the following: 1. Get Rutger Hauer2. Buy lots of bullets (hero resistant, of course!)3. Get a beautiful actress (and in this caseYvonne Scio is a 10!)4. Buy some more bullets5. Show lots of skin (Nude female bodybuilders withsoft muscles...hmmmm)6. Have sex ...lots of it7. Buy a few more bullets8. Kill all the bad guys (but only after you revealthat some good guys are bad and worse than thebad guy you were originally after who turns outto be easier to kill than expected)9. Throw in convoluted ending (like my previousparenthetical remark)10. Have more sexFor Pete's sake, people this is a cable channel movie. Enjoy it for the adrenaline and the visual pleasure. Don't get hung up on thinking about it. I'll watch this one again, if there isn't anything else on, or I need an Yvonne Scio fix.

Who are the people saying this movie is good? I am a huge Rutger And Dacascos fan, which is why I rented this clunker! Let this serve as a warning to others: Rent this at your own risk!The plot, which is senseless, is thin is some areas and then so convoluted in others, you feel as if you are on a roller coaster. This movie begins on a tepid note and limps along. There are so many question unanswered. Of course, there are the gratuitous nudity and violence that all these low budget stinkers throw in to attempt to mask the fact that there is no plot. The nude assassin scene just screams "desperate attempt."The acting, if you want to call it that, was mediocre at best. Dacascos and Rutger are usually very good in their roles. I am sure the fact that there was a terrible story line to work with didn't help to make them look any better. Both of these actors seem as if they are on valium and just flying on autopilot. Everyone in this movie has the emotional range of an android who's batteries are getting low. The female lead gives bad acting a whole new meaning. It seems that these low budget eastern European "films" just throw everything together. Anyone who needs work and is willing to throw away their reputation (past, present, or future) can make a quick buck by appearing in or working on pathetic films such as this one! Lousy, underacted, confusing, sleep inducing...... This movie would have gotten a zero had that option been available.

In the context of low-ish budget action flicks with Rutger Hauer in them, this really is quite a gem. What sets it apart is the location shooting in really run down Russian looking locations. The slightly futuristic slightly gone to seed look is great, and equals Blade Runner (though I might be the only one to think this). Remember the start of the James Bond film in the scrap yard with all the Russian statues, well this is like that only better.The film might never attain greatness, but it has a great Point Blank type standoff which even makes sense, a great Blade Runner type ending which makes sense. Did the other reviewers see the same film, there was not that much sex and violence when I saw it.