It seems that comics have become the mainstay in films these
days. With the success of the film adaptations of Marvel characters and Batman,
more comic book characters are making their way to the screen. Fans of the
British comic 2000 A.D. are well acquainted with Judge Dredd. Not the one we
saw years ago with Sylvester Stallone (not bad but no, not like the comic), but
the comic character. Dredd is the quintessential tough guy. He takes no guff
and deals out justice with extreme prejudice. So that makes him perfect for a
new film, this time just known as DREDD.
In the future most of the world is a desolate wasteland.
Only 2 cities remain the main one of which is Mega-City One. It is a city
filled with people and that means plenty of crime. Crime is so rampant in fact
that they've tossed aside the old ways of doing things and now have just one
authority in this world: judges. Judges fit everything into one tight package:
police officer, judge and executioner. There is no need for a trial, if you
break the law the judge will arrest and sentence you on the spot. If you do
something as extreme as murder, your execution will take place on the streets
with clean up to follow.
One of the most extreme members of this police force is
Judge Dredd (Karl Urban). He also happens to be the most effective officer they
have. His day today will be different though as he's been assigned a special
task: take a new recruit who barely passed the admissions test but has
something special about her, telepathy, and rate her performance. If she's
effective, she's in but if she fails, she's gone. Dredd meets up with new Judge
Anderson (Olivia Thrilby) and off they go.
The film goes for the usual here with the gruff old timer
giving the newbie a difficult time. Their first case results in a chase
involving a group of drug users racing through town. While Dredd kills a few of
these criminals, the rest escape into one of the skyscraper type neighborhoods.
The deaths of the criminals who escaped in a skyscraper type
neighborhood leads the Judges to that building. It turns out to be run by Ma-Ma (Lena Headey),
one of the most vicious criminals and drug lords in Mega City One. Ma-Ma is in
the process of promoting a new drug to the streets called Slo-mo, a drug that
when taken makes the user experience the world in slow motion. When she learns
that the Judges have entered the building, she immediately has it shut down and
locked up tight and then offers a huge reward for the first person to bring
both Judges to her.
This forces the Dredd and Anderson to work their way up the
floors of the building in search of Ma-Ma before anyone can collect that
reward. And along the way the body count rises as every criminal in the
building, and there are plenty of them, tries to collect. Unfortunately for
them they have yet to realize how resourceful and deadly Dredd truly is. To put
it mildly, Dredd makes Dirty Harry look like a kindergarten cop.
Those of you who recall the review I wrote for a film called
THE RAID might think this sounds vaguely familiar and in part it is. Both films
have law enforcement officials trapped in a skyscraper filled with criminals
out to collect a bounty on their heads. But this one does have a number of
differences. While THE RAID had a tad more realism in how its heroes found a
way to survive, DREDD has the title character who is the supreme tough guy.
Dredd doesn't think twice about shooting someone, he just does it. Anderson
also is a plus as her telepathic abilities help them to find out more about
just where they're going when they question a captive drug dealer.
If you're an action fan you'll love this movie, the same for
fans of the comic. Gone are the humorous touches found in the last version of
Dredd, replaced by a performance that is more in line with the comic book.
Urban does a fantastic job here, never once feeling the need to remove the
classic helmet Dredd wears to show off his smile, grimace or anything else.
This is what Dredd should look like and how he should be played. Thrilby does a
nice job as well showing her frustration at being judged by someone who clearly
has no use for her only to later be the sidekick that he needs.
The movie is filled to the brim with movie violence. Don't
rent this one not having a clue about that. Just like the comic, the movie is
filled with splatter moments and the blood gushes freely here. It's not a film
for the squeamish. But for movie fans, comic fans and Dredd fans, you'll enjoy
this movie much more than the Stallone version.
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