(Judge) Dredd 3D

I was a little surprised to hear the amount of positive reviews this film is receiving.

Anyone planning on seeing it?

Yup, later this afternoon.

I plan to, finances willing. The wife and I loves us some Karl Urban and the story sounds really good. A heck of a step up from Stallone's piece of garbage at any rate.

I hear Urban never takes off the helmet the entire movie - which would be glorious if true.

Rust wrote:

I plan to, finances willing. The wife and I loves us some Karl Urban and the story sounds really good. A heck of a step up from Stallone's piece of garbage at any rate.

I hear Urban never takes off the helmet the entire movie - which would be glorious if true.

I wasn't planning on seeing it, but after reading some positive reviews I changed my mind. I'm just thankful that Rob Schneider is nowhere to be seen!

I also read that he never takes his helmet off - I'm ready to see a Dredd flick that will hopefully wash away the travesty of the Stallone version.

I wasn't going to, but now I'm curious to...

Been wanting to see this one since it was announced that Karl Urban was playing him.

Be seeing it Sunday at noon.

I will most likely see it next weekend.

I remember reading a review of a Dr Who audio, and the audio was written by a guy who has been writing 2000 AD magazine for the past decade. They asked him what the biggest challenge was in writing this different of a character. He said it was in the resolution of conflict. Dredd usually solves problems by finding the bad guy and shooting them in the face. I don't know why, but I found that to be hilarious.

The story itself just honestly intrigues me.

Due to the new Drug Slo-Mo (Which rapid fires the synapses in the brain, allowing a person to perceive reality at an accelerated rate a la Bullet Time from various video games), Dredd and his rookie partner enter the housing complex of Slo-Mo's creator/chief dealer, a woman named Mama.

But Mama has full control of the complex and sends it into total lockdown, trapping Dredd and his partner in a vast building filled with hostiles that have almost literal lightning reflexes.

I saw it yesterday. And just finished watch the 1995 Stallone version again a few minutes ago to compare the two. Ironically, I also saw The Expendables 2 yesterday.

Interesting to watch both Dredd's one after another. Whereas the 1995 version was an okay film albeit with unnecessary silly comedic elements and the miscasting of Stallone, the new version was more or less plot-less. The new one nails the Dredd character better but I would have liked some story in there. And Lena Headey was underused, her character could have been a lot more dangerous.

But if all you like is seeing people get shot, you'll like Dredd 2012...

Krynoid wrote:

Whereas the 1995 version was an okay film albeit with unnecessary silly comedic elements and the miscasting of Stallone, the new version was more or less plot-less. The new one nails the Dredd character better but I would have liked some story in there.

The rumor is that if this movie does well, then they will make two more with a bigger budget and larger scale stories. The second movie will focus on the origin of the judges and more on Dredd's back story, and the third will introduce the Dark Judges.

Hopefully, if this comes true and is executed correctly, we can forgive the first one for its plotlessness.

I don't want to see a generic Judge Dredd reboot. I want a guano mad Judge Dredd movie with the Dark Judges!

Sequel hopes look bleak... Dredd finished 6 this weekend with only 6.3 million.

I loved it myself. Oh well.

Dangit. Topped the box office in the UK tho. I'm gonna try and see it this week in 3D before it goes to the budget theaters.

Here are my thoughts. Jargon and minimal spoilers follow.

So, here we have an actual film based on the 2000AD character, and it mostly succeeds. The problem with many comic adaptations is, what looks cool on paper looks ridiculous on film some times. So the change in costume this time around looks more gritty and real, a theme this film pulls off well.

Dredd is evaluating a young Cadet named Anderson on her Hot Dog run (a test under actual combat conditions). They decide to respond to a call from a Block called Peach Trees. Chaos ensues, Dredd and Anderson shoot ALOT of people, and try to escape after the building has been locked down.

We are given tantalizing glimpses of Mega City One, but it is far from what we see in the comic. It is a slum, looking less like Star Wars and more like Detroit. Dredd's narration puts the population at 800 million, stretching along the East Coast of the US. No mention is made of the other Mega Cities.

The budget forces the film makers to scale way back on the FX for the city, and the film I think is better for it. It's more run-down, post apocalyptic. More gritty. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in this case, it works beautifully.

Gloriously violent, with a simple plot, and barely any humor, it offers an unflinching look at MC1 as it might appear in the real world. Sorry to say that it tanked, because it is obvious from every frame that this is Dredd done RIGHT. This is by fans, for fans. It is no doubt as close as we will ever get to a Dredd comic on film.

9.0/10. Highly recommended.

Tanking at the box office isn't the end of the world. Better one solid film then a slew of terrible adaptations and subpar sequels.

Besides, it could be like the Resident Evil series, with DVD sales prompting a sequel.

This is true. Thanks for pointing this out, Rust. Even if they never made another one, this one will be remembered for getting it right.

The gritty realism look turned me off. The Judge uniforms in the comics aren't supposed to be utilitarian. They're flashy fascist symbols. The fact that they're all walking around in giant gold shoulder pads underscores that Mega City 1 has grossly misallocated resources that could greatly benefit the public. The 95 costumes translated the comic's visuals very well. I'd rather see unique costumes that aren't practical than realistic costumes that are boring. Having to deal with an awkward uniform could be used as interesting handicap for a character who's always in badass mode.
I'm not excited about the plot either. Taking a rookie on a baptism by fire is the standard cop movie plot. Having a hero fight through a building of enemies has been a staple of action movies since Die Hard popularized it. A bloc full of druggies doesn't feel like a fair fight against Dredd. Maybe they'd work in a movie where any character can die, but when the movie is named after a popular character they'll just fulfill the inverse ninja principle. For a movie based around Judge Dredd, he should have challenging foes who are on his level. I wouldn't want to see a movie where Batman or Spider-Man fight normal criminals either.
The lack of humor worries me too. Judge Dredd is supposed to be a satire of the USA, police states, & classic sci-fi. While Dredd is always serious, the stories often have a tongue in cheek tone about how bizarre everything is. This looks like it plays things a bit too straight. That sounds like a minor quibble, but it's the difference between a disposably forgettable action flick & one with a unique POV that you want to revisit often.
I know this movie was supposed to introduce the public to Judge Dredd so there could be a sequel with the Dark Judges. That was the plan for the 95 movie too. The problem is that there's nothing that novel in this movie's set up to get most people to see it. They don't need to devote a whole movie to Judge Dredd doing regular cop stuff for us to care about him & his world. People can already understand the premise of a badass cop in a crime-ridden future. One scene at the beginning would've sufficed before getting into the crazy. I'm sure it's good for what it is, but why aim so low when Mega City 1 is filled with craziness you can't get anywhere else? Throwing Dredd & the audiences out of their comfort zones againt the Dark Judges or Angel Gang would've made the movie much more memorable. Maybe it still would've bombed but at least you would have an awesome balls to the wall Judge Dredd movie instead of a more generic "safe" one.

You make some VERY vaild points. While my opinion differs, I totallly get where you're coming from. I think alot of the satire elements were sacrificed in this one. That is at the very least downplayed in favor of action. And while it is a very violent film, it needs to balance the humor and satire. Some of the facism is hinted at, with Anderson regretting executing a prisoner, and Dredd not even hesitating to beat a prisoner. And yet, they want the audience to be on Dredd's side. Without question, the Judges here are the 'thin blue line' between order and chaos. Not once do you feel like these are characterisations of real world policies or people. They are, more or less, played straight. These could be modern day cops, just pushed into a harsher environment.

I'm an unappologetic fan of the 95 Judge Dredd movie. I avoided this like the plague in thatres because it looked like a generic reboot of Judge Dredd when I wanted a guano mad reboot of Judge Dredd. I borrowed it from my library because people told me it was at least good action flick. This was horrible even with my lowered expectations.
One of the major problems with the movie is that it's not a fair fight. Judges are trained for Block Wars so there's no tension about Dredd being in over his head. They didn't even bother giving him interesting criminals to shoot in the face. My excitement level went way down when none of the criminals even understood the concept of taking cover. This set-up might've worked for a contemporary action film but not in a world where criminals are aware that Judges are massively armed & have carte blanche. I kept wondering why they had to waste an entire film on this scenario when the previous Dredd did it more concisely in its first five minutes.
I don't understand why Dredd & Anderson were trying to leave Peachtrees with the perp so soon. That guy already told them that MaMa was running SloMo out of the Block & that Judges never came there. As Judges, they are obligated to stay there until they have eliminated the known crime. They don't need to go back & wait for warrants because they are Judges! (I wouldn't have objected to them calling for reinforcements though.) They didn't need to worry about keeping the perp alive either since he was a confirmed murderer & drug dealer.
MaMa had the worst plan ever. She locked herself in with the people whose sworn duty it is to shoot her in the face without having any adequate countermeasures. She didn't even have any bombs or gas to overpower them with. Fleeing would've been a much smarter plan.
Even the way she put the building under lockdown made no sense. Her techie just says he put in a request thrice & Mega City-1 control believes him instantly? That's not how bureaucracy works! Even if he was able to con them, they wouldn't lock down the building while Judges were still inside on an investigation & had requested a meat wagon.
In the scene right after the gattling guns fail to injure the Judges, Dredd stares at MaMa while dropping her #1 guy off the balcony. Why doesn't he shoot her in the face right then? He could've ended things right there. Not executing her as soon as possible violates the legal & moral codes that Judge Dredd embodies.
Why did Judge Anderson suddenly become a damsel in distress?
I did not believe MaMa would have four corrupt Judges on speed dial. Even if she knew they were corrupt ahead of time, how could she summon them directly without tipping off dispatch that they're bent? Why would the two honest Judges not accompany them inside if they 're all the same rank? Aside from the one guy that finally made Dredd bleed, why even bother including crooked Judges if Dredd & Anderson take them out just as easily as any other perp?
Dredd method of killing MaMa was highly reckless. If he hadn't been right that the ground floor would be out of range of the bomb, thousands of innocents would've died. Knowing where she lived, why wouldn't MaMa have a detonator who range covered the entirety of the block? Why wouldn't Dredd have shot her non-lethally (like with a stun round), deactivated her detonator, & then executed her safely?
I hated how generic the whole thing felt. It didn't capture any of the quirkiness of the comics. A little satire would've gone a long way to giving this personality. I also hated the "realistic" costume design.
The whole thing felt like a waste of talent. They once again made the mistake of assuming they'd get a franchise & tried to save Judge Death for later. A future cop vs. an insane zombie doppleganger would make for a much more appealing film than future cop kills lots of incompetent criminals. Even if it tanked too, at least they would've made a memorable movie. At least the 95 film film had the excuse that they didn't think they could portray the Dark Judges adequately with the effects of the time & compensated by including a bunch of other interesting stuff. This movie was just boring. It isn't fit to polish the Stallone version's helmet!