Dredd (2012)
Known as "Dredd 3D" in cinemas, this is one which I was absolutely dying to see and COULDN'T because there weren't enough blooming 'headache-free' showings available. I don't know how much Dredd's failures at the boxoffice can be put down to people being unable to see the film in 2D (AS GOD INTENDED!), but I like to think of it as payback.
Unfortunately the joke is on me in the end. This is an absolutely brilliant adaptation of Judge Dredd and a really great piece of entertainment in its own right and now it most likely won't receive a sequel because it wasn't profitable enough. Hmmph!
It feels odd to say that Karl Urban has range when talking about a movie where most of his face is covered, but I think it's a fair point. Karl Urban is working with no more than just his jaw here. The upper half of his face and all the way down to below his nose is covered by his Judge helmet. Yet in spite of this, Urban manages to give a very full impression of Dredd's feelings and he's got the kind of curled lip effect often seen in the comics down to a tee. What's more he doesn't just feel like he's redoing a previous performance with a helmet on. As well as Urban's facial expressions, his line delivery is also really well handled, with a clear idea of how to present the character. In the previous attempt at a movie adaptation of the "Judge Dredd" comics, Stallone showed just how easy it was for Judge Dredd to appear utterly ridiculous. Though "Dredd" is a movie with a sense of fun, the character of Judge Dredd never comes across as ridiculous this time around.
Left: Karl Urban's Judge Dredd
Right: Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd
I'm actually surprised to say that the violence doesn't come across as ridiculous here either. While many action and drama films often fail to pay attention to the importance of each death, "Dredd" draws careful attention to the value of human life. This is interestingly a huge contrast to the action film "The Raid" where there are endless waves of expendable bad guys who are never given a second thought.
There was a lot of attention to the similarities between "The Raid" and "Dredd" (though for the record, "Dredd" was written first). Both involve police officers entering a building run by drug dealers only to find themselves massively outnumbered and fighting for their lives. While "The Raid" seemed distinguished by its larger number of police officers at the start, their number is quickly pushed down and the action is mainly focussed around the main protagonist. In "Dredd" we start straight away with just two officers (who in this science fiction setting are known as "Judges") one of whom is a trainee being given a "sink or swim" assessment because of her exceptional psychic abilities. The film gives pretty even attention to both of these characters.
The psychic rookie-judge who partners up with Judge Dredd is played by Olivia Thirlby. I had high hopes for her performance because of one small section of the trailer where she says the line "let's finish this". The words are unimportant. What impressed me was her expression. There was no sense that she was trying to prove herself or that this line was supposed to make us laugh. Her expression is determined yet jaded at the same time. She's doing her job and there's no surprise that she might have to kill some bad guys. Within the movie her psychic abilities play quite a big part all the way through the plot. Psychics with her level of ability are apparently pretty rare, so she's able to throw a spanner in the works at several points in the story.
One thing that really impressed me right off the bat in "Dredd" before the story even got started was, oddly enough, the realism. Looking at screenshots and promotional material, I know what you are thinking. This is goofy sci-fi of the highest order and there is not a chance in hell that this movie is "realistic". Well in a way you're right. Like the comic, a great deal is over the top. However, when the situation in Mega City One is first conveyed to the audience we are told that there is massive over-population and high levels of crime. We then see some people and they actually don't look so different from the unruly youths in troubled areas today. Later on in the film we'll see what sci-fi gangs with bizarre outfits and tattoos will look like, but initially we are just shown typical thugs and as a result it's much easier to imagine that this society is a futuristic version of the world in which we already live.
What's more, the most over-the-top violent scenes are given some artistic license since they are often shown through the perspective of a villain using the drug slo-mo. Instead of just showing a typical display of blood and guts we see an alternate view of the world, not only slowed down but also brightly coloured and sparkling. The glimpses of this effect in the trailer don't really make clear quite how well this effect works, both in its contribution to the appearance and the tone of the movie. It's a pity that we probably will not see future instalments in this franchise, since the presentation of the world of Judge Dredd felt around about perfect to me. All the elements were well planned and the mythology of this dystopian world was expertly handled.
One final thing still to mention is some of the bad guys. The central bad guy is "Ma-ma" played by Lena Headey. There's something about the actress that means that I cannot stand her even when she's playing one of the good guys. But she makes one hell of a villain. In the "Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "300" I found her irritating as hell, but in "Game Of Thrones" and here in "Dredd" she is absolutely fantastic. I previously thought she had limited acting range. Now I think she just has a hard time coming off as a nice person on film. (No judgement on her in real life of course. I'm sure she's a lovely person. Or at least that's what I'll say to her with a big smile on my face to hide my intense fear. :P) Another central bad guy is played by Wood, who many will know as the major drug dealer Avon Barksdale from "The Wire". He's pretty awesome.
"Dredd" is the best superhero movie of last year. (People wondering if I'm off my rocker should consider that I previously had "The Amazing Spider-Man" as the best superhero movie of last year. Also, for the record, I now feel like I highly overrated "The Dark Knight Rises".) Of course, Judge Dredd isn't exactly a superhero, though its not entirely fair to call him an anti-hero either. He's a strong believer in justice within a world where enforcement is extremely heavy-handed. The Robocop films were quite heavily influenced by Judge Dredd.
"Dredd" is a visually stunning, action-packed, with well developed protagonists and villains, great pacing and a neat balance between the extremes of the world of Judge Dredd and an underlying believability of the dystopian scenario. Check it out!
A+
