'Citizen, littering is against the law, the sentence is 5 years maximum security'
'Citizen, you have violated penal code 4412 and the penalty is...DEATH...BLAM BLAM'
It was lines like these delivered by a faceless, po faced frown that made Judge Dredd the greatest and most iconic British comic book creation and easily up there with Marvel's more celebrated figures. Indeed, if the comic 2000 AD had been an American creation, Dredd would have been as illustrious as Spiderman and the Hulk. The good news is that Pete Travis has made an entertaining and exciting film that wipes away the travesty of the Stallone portrayal (made all the more risible by the fact that it was directed by an Englishman) and retains much of the iconography of the Dredd character: the permanent scowl, the lip curl, the low growl, his complete incorruptibility, the Lawmaster motor cycle and his Lawgiver in action; probably the coolest side arm in film.
The story is simple – a rip off from 'The Raid' – and involves Dredd (Karl Urban) investigating three seemingly ordinary homicides in Peach Trees, one of the mega tower blocks in Mega City One which houses thousands of people, with a rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) whom he has to assess. They arrest a gang lieutenant who is responsible for the murder of the three homicides and to prevent him from being taken into custody and revealing that Peach Trees is the central production and distribution point for Slo-Mo (a highly addictive and hallucinogenic drug that appears to slow down time to a tenth of a second), the gang leader, Ma Ma (Lena Headey) orders the assassination of the two Judges. The tower block is put into lockdown trapping the Judges inside. Their only way of escape is to advance up the tower block to destroy Ma Ma and her criminal gang. What follows is a pleasingly high body count as bloody mayhem ensures from within.
Urban has nailed the sensibilities of the comic book creation (replete with deadpan humour), but it is clearly an imitation of Clint Eastwood and his 'Dirty Harry' character of the 1970s (upon whom the creator, John Wagner, modelled his character upon). The fact that Urban sounds so much like Eastwood cannot be unintentional and is slightly off putting if only because you are thinking about it throughout the film. Thirlby, playing the iconic Judge Anderson with the ability to read minds, is a fine counterpoint to Dredd's cool detachment and gives the film its emotional heart in the development of their paternalistic relationship. The effects of the drug, Slo-Mo, provides ample opportunities for the CGI artists to do their stuff and show bullets ripping through flesh, blood spurting from ruined arteries and bodies smashing onto concrete (you'll love and laugh at Ma Ma's demise).
Overall, Dredd is a faithful adaption of the comic book hero and its box office success should lead onto ever more thrilling sequels that mine the comic's greatest stories. Roll on 'Judge Death' and 'The Cursed Earth'!
'Citizen, you have violated penal code 4412 and the penalty is...DEATH...BLAM BLAM'
It was lines like these delivered by a faceless, po faced frown that made Judge Dredd the greatest and most iconic British comic book creation and easily up there with Marvel's more celebrated figures. Indeed, if the comic 2000 AD had been an American creation, Dredd would have been as illustrious as Spiderman and the Hulk. The good news is that Pete Travis has made an entertaining and exciting film that wipes away the travesty of the Stallone portrayal (made all the more risible by the fact that it was directed by an Englishman) and retains much of the iconography of the Dredd character: the permanent scowl, the lip curl, the low growl, his complete incorruptibility, the Lawmaster motor cycle and his Lawgiver in action; probably the coolest side arm in film.
The story is simple – a rip off from 'The Raid' – and involves Dredd (Karl Urban) investigating three seemingly ordinary homicides in Peach Trees, one of the mega tower blocks in Mega City One which houses thousands of people, with a rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) whom he has to assess. They arrest a gang lieutenant who is responsible for the murder of the three homicides and to prevent him from being taken into custody and revealing that Peach Trees is the central production and distribution point for Slo-Mo (a highly addictive and hallucinogenic drug that appears to slow down time to a tenth of a second), the gang leader, Ma Ma (Lena Headey) orders the assassination of the two Judges. The tower block is put into lockdown trapping the Judges inside. Their only way of escape is to advance up the tower block to destroy Ma Ma and her criminal gang. What follows is a pleasingly high body count as bloody mayhem ensures from within.
Urban has nailed the sensibilities of the comic book creation (replete with deadpan humour), but it is clearly an imitation of Clint Eastwood and his 'Dirty Harry' character of the 1970s (upon whom the creator, John Wagner, modelled his character upon). The fact that Urban sounds so much like Eastwood cannot be unintentional and is slightly off putting if only because you are thinking about it throughout the film. Thirlby, playing the iconic Judge Anderson with the ability to read minds, is a fine counterpoint to Dredd's cool detachment and gives the film its emotional heart in the development of their paternalistic relationship. The effects of the drug, Slo-Mo, provides ample opportunities for the CGI artists to do their stuff and show bullets ripping through flesh, blood spurting from ruined arteries and bodies smashing onto concrete (you'll love and laugh at Ma Ma's demise).
Overall, Dredd is a faithful adaption of the comic book hero and its box office success should lead onto ever more thrilling sequels that mine the comic's greatest stories. Roll on 'Judge Death' and 'The Cursed Earth'!