Dredd first appeared in 1977’s second issue of 2000 AD, an obscure British sci-fi magazine, and created by the equally obscure John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. Dredd is a hard-nosed, tough as nails supercop in charge of acting as judge, jury and executioner in an intense war on crime in the near-future, dystopian city of Mega-City One. From there, Dredd’s adventures quickly descend into campy goodness.
I assume that most people’s exposure with Judge Dredd comes from the sloppy 1995 Stallone movie. From that, audiences could probably guess that Dredd’s comic book tales take him on trips through a Mad Max-esque type of post-apocalyptic hellhole.
Dredd, the film, sees the titular character taking Cassandra Anderson, a rookie Judge fresh from the academy, out for her final examination before she becomes a full Judge.
Upon responding to a triple homicide in a rough part of town, Dredd and Anderson are closed off from the outside world by viscous gang leader Ma-Ma. The Judges are forced to fight through an army of psychopaths and murderers if they want to survive.
The filmmakers, lead by director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) and writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) have captured a vision of a disgusting post-apocalyptic world perfectly.
This is one of the most grotesque representations of the future I have seen, but it also comes off as being true to what I would guess the future would look like. No, not particularly grimy, but the technology in the movie is highly based on status. Some people have the newest gadgets, while others are living in pathetically ordinary ghettos, which is how the future should look.
I get tired of seeing uniformly futuristic movies, where everyone is on the same page about the latest in technological advancements. Let me ask you a couple of questions: does everyone presently have a smart phone? Does everyone use a computer? The answer is no. Nobody is, or has ever been, on the same level of technology, so why should the future look this way?
To be fair, the only reason Dredd pulls the future setting off so well is due to a small budget. I have to give credit to Karl Urban (Star Trek, RED) in this movie. He plays Judge Dredd and, just like in the comic, Dredd’s face is never fully revealed (the word on the street is that Urban insisted on never giving us the goods). He growls his way through this movie and it gives him a commanding presence on screen, surpassing Stalone’s Hollywood action schmuck by miles.
Olivia Thirlby (Juno, The Darkest Hour) does a competent job as Dredd’s sidekick, giving us a fresh take on the roles of “rookie,” “psychic lady” and “action girl” by rolling all three all up into one character.
Lena Heady (300, Game of Thrones) leads the well-characterized team of bad guys and has both a threatening and memorable role onscreen as a pretty good villain, something Hollywood is in dire straights for at this moment. The effects are hit & miss by being extraordinarily awful or also heart wrenchingly beautiful.
The action manages to be both brutal and subtle, giving us what we need at just the right time. Highlighting some of action is the drug called “Slo-Mo,” that slows down the action and highlights some particularly gory bits.
Dredd is a wonderfully dark time at the movies and if you have not seen it yet, you are missing out on one of the year’s best.
