At the Theater - Dredd - Absolutely nothing like the campy 1995 Stallone film, Judge Dredd- this is as gritty, bloody and as deadly serious as a futuristic action film gets. Think the tone of 1987's Robocop (without the satirical commercials) mixed with the premise of 1988's Die Hard (and very similar to this year's The Raid: Redemption)- shut off completely from outside assistance, the titular hero and his rookie empath, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), must ascend to the top of the fortified and crime-infested "Peach Trees" tower block and bring the vicious drug-lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey- "Queen Gorgo" in 300) to justice, all the while dispatching countless heavily armed thugs.
The entirety of the story unfolds over the course of several hours while 95% of the film is set in the aforementioned "Peach Trees" high-rise- it could have easily been retitled: A Day On Patrol With Judge Dredd. It's a simplistic yet fully functional approach. The action and effects are very well filmed and staged, with the 3D aspect of the film kicking into high gear during sequences in which the designer drug Slo-Mo come into play- users find themselves experiencing reality at a fraction of it's normal speed, making for some visually striking segments that I found rather impressive. Be forewarned: this film is extremely bloody, with a few moments of outright gore that had me actually wincing.
Karl Urban is perfect in the role as "Dredd"- he's got presence to spare and portrays the character with control and determination, without any ego to speak of and never feeling it necessary that audiences must know that it's actually him under the helmet- yes, the helmet never comes off in the film. Very cool. The suit here is also a definite upgrade over the '95 film.
Olivia Thirlby (Juno) surprised me in that the actress shows some verve- her character here is fully worth-while, well-utilized and with purpose. "Anderson" never falls into "wise-cracking sidekick" or "damsel in distress" mode and I appreciated that.
Leana Heady, as the scarred villainess Ma-Ma, is effectively grungy and chilling in her scenes- though I would have appreciated a couple more "hands-on" segments in which her character takes more of a direct role in the proceedings. Her comeuppance is rather memorable...
Wood Harris (Remember The Titans), as one of Ma-Ma's top-tier underlings, rounds out the notable cast.
Dredd is a smaller-budgeted affair by Hollywood's theatrically-released standards, but surprisingly centered and perfectly efficient for what it's worth- one might think of it as one of the largest budgeted fan films ever made. It's obvious that the film was crafted with the input of those who appreciated and respected the character and comic. It's a great re-introduction of the character that "gets it right" this go-round.
Sadly, it appears very few wanted to see this film in theaters as it has pretty much bombed here in the U.S. - there's no good reason for that as it should eventually take it's place amongst the absolute best Rated R comic book movies ever made.
Highly Recommended for fans of the subject matter.
Dredd - 8.0 out of 10
FWIW - Judge Dredd (1995) - 5.0 out of 10
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