Red 11 is certainly conceptually interesting, but that's about where it ends. To stick with the word "concept," it feels a bit like discovering some out-there concept album from the 60s or 70s where you don't really enjoy many of the songs on a base level, but then you read into it and it's kind of like "oh, okay. Concept."
Bad comparison. But Red 11 also doesn't link back to Robert Rodriguez's filmmaking roots very well. It is inspired by Rodriguez's time spent being a guinea pig in a medical lab as a way to earn funds for his first low-budget feature, El Mariachi. The budget of Red 11 is also about the same (apparently), and it also takes place inside a medical lab. The premise reflects Rodriguez's reality, but then Red 11 goes to some more out-there and clearly unreal areas. I almost wish it was just more of a low-key drama set inside a lab.
It's an experiment of a film, and it is at least a tiny bit interesting to think about. But as a movie, it's lacking, and not particularly exciting outside the meta-ness it offers. Even then, some of the leaning on the fourth wall stuff is excruciating, including an awkward reference to From Dusk Till Dawn and one side character who is composing some of the film's music on the fly. I get that the latter might've sounded cute on paper, but in reality... I don't know.
It's probably worth a half-hearted watch for anyone who's a fan of Robert Rodriguez, but even then, you might be a bit disappointed. I'm writing about his filmography soon and am trying to complete it before I do, but part of me wonders if I'll be able to stick with some of these. He's an interesting filmmaker and seems like a cool guy, but his stuff does vary wildly in quality.
