Dredd - Review

The cult classic comic series, Judge Dredd, has been running since 1977, but aside from devoted comic nerds and fans of the series, the character has rarely gotten any wide recognition or attention. I'm just as guilty as anyone, though I've always been aware of the series' existence, I admit that I've never actually read a full Judge Dredd comic, though I've always appreciated it from afar. The stories themselves have interesting ideas, containing biting satire for topics including police overreach, brutality, and corruption in a crime ridden society, and asks questions like when does law enforcement overstep it's bounds or then again in such a crime ridden environment, the only way to maintain some kind of order is by operating a near-totalitarian regime. These are all thought provoking questions that could definitely make for an interesting movie. Hollywood tried once back in 1995, in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle titled Judge Dredd. The results were... not so good. While by no means the worst of Stallone's filmography, it was nonetheless a disappointing adaptation plagued by a disjointed narrative, subpar acting, and lame jokes (that's what happens when you make your film's comic relief Rob Schneider). It's 17 years later and filmmakers are at it again with a reboot simply titled Dredd. Does this make up for the sins of Stallone's missed opportunity or is is it another dreadful attempt?

Dredd takes place in a post-apocalyptic future (in an undisclosed year) in the crime ridden metropolitan Mega City One on America's east coast. The only force of order lies within the Hall of Justice whose police force, known as judges, serve as both judge, jury, and executioners with the ability to carry out on-the-spot sentences. The most well-known of the judges is none other than Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) known for his ruthless and brutal form of law enforcement and dedication to protecting what's left of society. On a routine day, he is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie judge with powerful psychic abilities. While investigating a homicide at a gang-controlled skyscraper slum, the drug lords running the building seal them (and it's thousands of residents) inside with orders to eliminate the judges. Facing unspeakable odds and vicious criminals, Dredd and Anderson put their knowledge and skills to the test in order to take down the building's criminal element.

I'll be first to admit that I didn't have very high expectations for this film, in fact I was pretty convinced that it was going to suck. With comic adaptations still riding high, I figured that this would just be a film to make a quick buck at the box office regardless of it's quality. To my surprise, however, the film is actually pretty damn awesome. It's by no means a perfect flick nor is it one of the better offerings of the genre, but it hits most of the right notes and delivers pretty much exactly where needed. It's a brutal, bloody, over-the-top, sci-fi/action flick with a fun cast, some great thrills, and even a few beats of decent satire. It had a team of filmmakers and actors who clearly respected the material and made an honest effort to create a quality film, and it shows. Like I said, I've never read Judge Dredd comics, so I can't speak for how accurately the flick follows them, but from what I've heard from comic purists, most of the film is quite faithful, so take that as you will. I will say this much, one of the main complaints about the original film was that Dredd spent most of the movie without his trademark helmet (in the comics, he never removes it), but here, Urban spends 99% of the film wearing his headgear, so that's got to count for something.

Karl Urban has made quite a name for himself as one of the more prolific character actors working today. With supporting roles in high quality genre films like Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Bourne Surpemacy, the guy was ideal choice for the role of Dredd. Hell, even in some of his roles in lesser films like Doom or Priest, he's still managed to hold his own. Dredd himself was heavily influenced by many of Clint Eastwood's earlier roles, and it shows in Urban's performance. Seeing as how Dredd never removes his helmet, there are some times he makes some odd and kind of goofy looking facial expressions, but for the most part I dug the hell out of this portrayal of Dredd. Urban is a badass, and he brings those traits to the character, holding his own in the action scenes and giving the character a good sense of toughness and fun. He's tough as nails but also gives the character a bit of humor here and there too, so for that I give immense props.

The rest of the cast did a solid job as well. Olivia Thirlby's performance as the psychic-rookie-judge Anderson was surprisingly solid, but more than that is actually something I really liked about the character. One of my constant complaints in these kinds of movies is that whenever the main character has a female sidekick and/or rookie accomplice, they often end up captured at some point requiring the main character to come to their rescue. This is an outdated stereotype bordering sexist that has really overstayed it's welcome, but Dredd manages to sidestep this issue. Anderson is a rookie judge who does make a mistake here and there, but she always holds her own in her fights and overcomes each of her obstacles using her own skills and intelligence, for once not requiring her male counterpart to come to her aid. In other words, she's a complete badass of a character that's just as tough and cunning as Dredd. You also have Lena Headey as the villainous mob boss nicknamed Ma-Ma. She looked like she was having fun with the role as a relentless diabolical monster of a character. She has some pretty memorable scenes and overall makes for a good villain for this kind of a film. I don't have too many complaints about the cast, for the most part, everyone was quite good.

The selling point for this kind of film, however, has got to be the action. If that's all your expecting from Dredd, I can pretty much guarantee that you will leave satisfied. As I mentioned above, the film is bloody and gory as hell, capturing (from what I've been told anyways) the themes and style of it's comic counterpart.  The film opens with a great chase scene, and following that is a barrage of awesome shootouts, fights, and killer stunts. The cinematography does a good job framing all of the erratic action without devolving into ADD shaky cam territory. Plus the movie was partially filmed in 3D, and to it's credit, has some pretty cool looking 3D shots. One of the film's subplots involved a drug trade involving a substance called Slo-Mo that slows down the user's perception of time. This was used to create some neat slow motion 3D scenes that, while eventually overstaying their welcome, are pretty cool to watch, for a while at least. I don't know if I would recommend the few extra dollars for a 3D show, but if you're a fan of the technology, you'll probably enjoy it. Overall, this was one thrilling film that delivered on all the brutal and bloody action I could have wanted.

Despite all the film's strengths, the story is kind of a mixed bag. It's by no means terrible, the pacing is good, the characters are adequate, and it has some interesting ideas. Unfortunately it also contains some plot holes, inconsistencies, and subpar execution of it's attempted satire. It seemed like the film was trying to ask the question of whether such a brutal form of law enforcement might have been doing more harm that good, or possibly whether the judges are any better than the criminals they take down. This concept, in it of itself, is interesting enough but unfortunately it's not explored very well. There are a couple of scenes in the beginning where Judge Andersen begins to have doubts about carrying out executions, but soon afterwards those qualms just seem to mostly go away. In the end, it seemed like the film was simply saying that in a chaotic world, the only remedy is an equally chaotic form of law enforcement... and without any other conflicting viewpoints or ideas, that's kind of a letdown. It seemed like it was trying to work on the same level as Robocop, another sci-fi action flick with similar themes, only Robocop featured a near perfect balance between the bloody action and poignant satire (seriously though, Robocop is still one of the best sci-fi movies ever made). That said, mediocre satire aside, the story at least serves as an adequate means to deliver on some great fast-paced action and enjoyably quirky characters. I suppose that has to count for something.

All in all, Dredd is a very fun, if somewhat flawed, action film that deserves to be seen. It's by no means perfect, but if you're looking for a fun action film with brutal violence and good visuals, this should do the trick. Check it out.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5!