Dredd (2012)
We live in the golden
age of comic book movies. Well, that is to say we live in the golden
age of movies adapted from American comic books. British
comics are less of a success story when it's come to adapting them
for the big screen. For every Watchmen or Kick-Ass there has been a
Tank Girl, a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or even a From Hell.
Firmly belonging in the latter list was 1995's Judge Dredd, a
Sylvester Stallone vehicle that couldn't have missed the point of
Dredd harder if it tried and scuppered any chance of Dredd being
taken seriously (at least cinematically) for a decade or so. So here
we have a new take on the series, simply called Dredd, starring
Karl Urban, aiming to right the wrongs of the Stallone nightmare.
"You have been judged. The sentence is death."
Okay, quick rundown.
We're in the future. Most of America is a nuclear wasteland. There is
a gigantic, sprawling city built on the remains and rubble called
Mega City One, which is a bustling, violent metropolis. Law
enforcement is different. Instead of police, Mega City One has
Judges- helmeted clompy booted scary mofos who act as not only judge,
but jury and executioner as well, often dispensing justice by
executing criminals on the spot. Anyway, we follow Judge Joseph Dredd
(Karl Urban) as he and his rookie partner Anderson (Olivia Thirlby)
answer a routine call in a place called Peach Trees- a 200 story
megastructure run by druglord and gang leader Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
However, tits go up when the building is locked down, forcing Dredd
and Anderson to fight their way through the building to get to Ma-Ma
and find out the link between what's going on and a new drug called
Slo-Mo, which has flooded the street due to its ability to make users
to feel like time is passing at 1% its normal speed.
If all that multiple
floors/slumlord business is sounding familiar it's probably because
you saw Indonesian/Welsh bonecruncher The Raid earlier this year.
Whilst there are similarities, Dredd is its own beast. There have
been certain grotty pockets of the Internet accusing Dredd of ripping
The Raid off, but these sweaty losers have failed to take into
account that a) the Dredd script was written before The Raid's b) the
whole “being trapped in a building and having to fight your way
out” is hardly new with The Towering Inferno and Die Hard
exemplifying two different takes decades before and c) nobody gives a
fuck. Karl Urban is a fantastic Dredd. He gives a suitably stoic and
gruff performance as the no-nonsense Judge. Dredd wears a grimace the
entire time and it just makes him a joy to watch. Olivia Thirlby
surprised me as Anderson, giving a tough but endearing turn and
picking up the emotional slack left by Dredd. Lena Headey continues
her impressive streak of being awesome in everything she's in as the
vicious Ma-Ma.
Not being up on my
2000AD, I can't really comment on how well the film adheres to the
source material. I know a bit and the general consensus from fans
seems to be that's its a pretty faithful adap. What I really liked
about Dredd is that it keeps things practical if it can. It gives a
realistic, gritty version of the future without CGI overkill as seen
in this year's Total Rehash (see what I did there?). That's not to
say it's bleak and boring though, it's a damn stylish film at times
with the obvious standouts being the super-saturated Slo-Mo
sequences. My mouth was agape at some of the shots. It almost
justifies the 3D tax too. For a film that was apparently shot in 3D,
it all looked pretty flat to me, with the exception of the
aforementioned trippy bits. Perhaps I was wearing the specs
back-to-front or something.
I think the main word
for Dredd is “uncompromised”. Whilst it does make efforts to make
Dredd seem heroic, this is probably the closest we'll get to the
inked anti-hero. Dredd growls out cheesy one-liners whilst never
changing his expression and thankfully isn't forced to go on some
kind of “emotional journey”. He's exactly the same as when he
went in, except dirtier and bloodier. The film makes full use of its
18 certificate, containing some of the most disgustamazing (not a
word, should be) stuff I've seen in a long time. Wince-inducing
highlights include some action with three mini-guns and a shootout on
Slo-Mo. The action never hits the highs that it should, but it does
well enough, somehow keeping constant shootouts from boring people,
mostly thanks to the kick-ass Lawgiver gun which has all kinds of fun
ammunition including armour-piercing and my personal favourite: “Hot
Shot”.
It's tough to nail down
my main problem with Dredd. I feel that the film is caught between
two worlds. On the one hand it aims to be schlocky and fun, like a
Paul Verhoeven picture, and on the other hand it's gritty and bleak.
I wanted the action to be better because I felt the film deserved it,
with its compelling setting and characters. The lack of a consistent
tone became a bit of a problem for me. The middle section is a bit
plodding too, with Dredd wandering around dark, samey corridors
waiting for the plot to kick in again.
"I am the law!"
Dredd is great. It's
not perfect and there are a few things that let it down for me, but
the runtime just flew by. It completely eradicates memories of the
1995 disaster and establishes solid foundations to be built upon. We
have a decent style, an awesome Dredd and Anderson and plenty to work
with when it comes to sequels. Let's just hope it does decent enough
business. Recommended.
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