Plot: When a man is murdered in Moscow, experimental bionic research brings him back to life. He then sets out to find his murderers and money that was stolen during the crime.
If I remember correctly Redline was known as Armageddon in the UK when it was released back in 1997, but it’s known as Deathline; it stars Mark Dacascos and Rutger Hauer and is harder to find these days.
I go into spoilers just in case you haven’t seen it before.
Directed by Tibor Takács (who also directed Mark Dacascos in Sabotage and The Crow: Stairway to Heaven), he gives Redline a nice look even if it doesn’t have any huge set-pieces. This an atmospheric film creating a sort of futuristic, hyper-real Russia where people who have been recently killed can be brought back to life.
When Wade (Hauer) is shot and left for dead by his partner Merrick (Mark Dacascos) he is brought back by the government and he wants revenge for Merrick’s betrayal, but also the money he is owed. Wade teams up with Marina (Yvonne Sciò) and the pair try to get to Merrick while avoiding being taken out by enemies from all sides.
There are double crosses and triple crosses here, so you’re never sure who to trust and the highlight is as always Dacascos on fine villainous form. In terms of action we get to see Mark show off a few fight moves, but it’s mostly shoot-outs here and even the way Merrick is taken out at the end is a little underwhelming.
Still, this is a cool little movie and I loved Yvonne Sciò as the badass Marina who can genuinely take care of herself and is never a damsel in distress.
Overall, Redline may not have massive set-pieces but it’s an interesting revenge tale with Mark Dacascos making for an enjoyable villain and Yvonne Sciò proving a great find. Rutger Hauer never disappoints too starring in several of these straight to video action movies throughout the years and this is one of the better ones.