1995's Judge Dredd was savaged by critics and die hard comic fans who hated its tongue and cheek humor and general silliness. I did not hate it and actually found its campiness and Sylvester Stallone's choice of going over the top with the title character was endearing. Granted it is not Shakespeare, but I never read the comic book Dredd is based on so I was not as insulted by the liberties taken by the makers of the 1995 version.
Dredd 3D of 2012 is, to my understanding extremely faithful to the comic book. I have never been a big comic book fan. Watches and film scores are expensive enough for my vice. However, after watching Dredd 3D I will start looking for Dredd comic books. Dredd 3D does not need the gimmick of 3D. It is as solid as a film can get.
There is nothing, plot wise that has any connection to the Stallon picture. Only the title character (played well by Karl Urban) and his trusty firearm that can shoot just about any projectile that's loaded. The film starts in Mega-City, a endlessly sprawling metropolis of concrete, neon and people. Massive skyscrapers that can house 75000 people jut out of the ground like pillars from a distance. Most of the city shots are real shots of Johannesburg, South Africa. The filmmakers have gone in and digitally added the monsterous structures. All the shots of the city are of a real city (except for the block buildings). I found that pretty damn neat. Mega-City is a crime ridden dung heap with only the Judges to keep order as best they can. Judge Dredd is a by the book administrator of the law. Judges are judges, juries, and executioners of the law. He is assigned a rookie on her first day on the job. Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is a young girl who grew up in Mega-City only to loose both parents and end up on the street before she became a Judge. She has a special gift which I will not reveal, here because it explains how she became a Judge even though her test scores were below average. Their first task is to arrest the perp for a triple homocide in one of the gargantuan apartment buildings. The building, it turns out, happens to house Ma-Ma(Lena Headey). She is a vicious psychopath that runs the building and all of its residents and controls the market on the new drug, Slo-Mo. Slo-mo, as you might have guessed makes time seem to slow down as you inhale it. It's very addicting, lethal and the drug of choice for most of the residents. She locks down the entire building and issues a demand from the inhabitants. "Find the Judges and kill them." Lena Headey complete with a horribly scarred face plays Ma-Ma with an eerie iciness. "Skin them alive and throw them into the atrium", she says when a trio of competeing drug dealers are picked up by her crew. Let's just say if you get picked up her, "Save the last bullet for yourself".
Dredd is a phenominally good film. It's viscerally raw, gritty and very intense. Pete Travers, who directed the ok Vantage Point, directs this film with grace and style. Dredd is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in a while. Travers' choice of using slow motion on several scenes enhances the beauty of Dredd and Alex Garland's script is peppered with lots of dark humor that is expertly delivered by Karl Urban who, as I said is terrific as Dredd. You never see his face, only his mouth (in keeping with the comic, i have learned). But Urban is so good he can emit emotion just by his facial expressions so we know what he is thinking. Olivia Thirlby is great, too as Judge Anderson. She understands what it is like to be a person without hope on the street and she genuinely wants to "make a difference". But she also wants to enforce the laws to help those who just want to have a chance at a good life without the criminals ruining everything. Dredd is only 95 minutes long but it seems to be timed just right. It never loses its intensity and it is a well written and stunningly well made film. Dredd does not even need the gimmick of 3D. It is its own perfection. This is one I will purchase on dvd and look into the1995's Judge Dredd was savaged by critics and die hard comic fans who hated its tongue and cheek humor and general silliness. I did not hate it and actually found its campiness and Sylvester Stallone's choice of going over the top with the title character was endearing. Granted it is not Shakespeare, but I never read the comic book Dredd is based on so I was not as insulted by the liberties taken by the makers of the 1995 version.
Dredd 3D of 2012 is, to my understanding extremely faithful to the comic book. I have never been a big comic book fan. Watches and film scores are expensive enough for my vice. However, after watching Dredd 3D I will start looking for Dredd comic books. Dredd 3D does not need the gimmick of 3D. It is as solid as a film can get.
There is nothing, plot wise that has any connection to the Stallon picture. Only the title character (played well by Karl Urban) and his trusty firearm that can shoot just about any projectile that's loaded. The film starts in Mega-City, a endlessly sprawling metropolis of concrete, neon and people. Massive skyscrapers that can house 75000 people jut out of the ground like pillars from a distance. Most of the city shots are real shots of Johannesburg, South Africa. The filmmakers have gone in and digitally added the monsterous structures. All the shots of the city are of a real city (except for the block buildings). I found that pretty damn neat. Mega-City is a crime ridden dung heap with only the Judges to keep order as best they can. Judge Dredd is a by the book administrator of the law. Judges are judges, juries, and executioners of the law. He is assigned a rookie on her first day on the job. Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is a young girl who grew up in Mega-City only to loose both parents and end up on the street before she became a Judge. She has a special gift which I will not reveal, here because it explains how she became a Judge even though her test scores were below average. Their first task is to arrest the perp for a triple homocide in one of the gargantuan apartment buildings. The building, it turns out, happens to house Ma-Ma(Lena Headey). She is a vicious psychopath that runs the building and all of its residents and controls the market on the new drug, Slo-Mo. Slo-mo, as you might have guessed makes time seem to slow down as you inhale it. It's very addicting, lethal and the drug of choice for most of the residents. She locks down the entire building and issues a demand from the inhabitants. "Find the Judges and kill them." Lena Headey complete with a horribly scarred face plays Ma-Ma with an eerie iciness. "Skin them alive and throw them into the atrium", she says when a trio of competeing drug dealers are picked up by her crew. Let's just say if you get picked up her, "Save the last bullet for yourself".
Dredd is a phenominally good film. It's viscerally raw, gritty and very intense. Pete Travers, who directed the ok Vantage Point, directs this film with grace and style. Dredd is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in a while. Travers' choice of using slow motion on several scenes enhances the beauty of Dredd and Alex Garland's script is peppered with lots of dark humor that is expertly delivered by Karl Urban who, as I said is terrific as Dredd. You never see his face, only his mouth (in keeping with the comic, i have learned). But Urban is so good he can emit emotion just by his facial expressions so we know what he is thinking. Olivia Thirlby is great, too as Judge Anderson. She understands what it is like to be a person without hope on the street and she genuinely wants to "make a difference". But she also wants to enforce the laws to help those who just want to have a chance at a good life without the criminal1995's Judge Dredd was savaged by critics and die hard comic fans who hated its tongue and cheek humor and general silliness. I did not hate it and actually found its campiness and Sylvester Stallone's choice of going over the top with the title character was endearing. Granted it is not Shakespeare, but I never read the comic book Dredd is based on so I was not as insulted by the liberties taken by the makers of the 1995 version.
Dredd 3D of 2012 is, to my understanding extremely faithful to the comic book. I have never been a big comic book fan. Watches and film scores are expensive enough for my vice. However, after watching Dredd 3D I will start looking for Dredd comic books. Dredd 3D does not need the gimmick of 3D. It is as solid as a film can get.
There is nothing, plot wise that has any connection to the Stallon picture. Only the title character (played well by Karl Urban) and his trusty firearm that can shoot just about any projectile that's loaded. The film starts in Mega-City, a endlessly sprawling metropolis of concrete, neon and people. Massive skyscrapers that can house 75000 people jut out of the ground like pillars from a distance. Most of the city shots are real shots of Johannesburg, South Africa. The filmmakers have gone in and digitally added the monsterous structures. All the shots of the city are of a real city (except for the block buildings). I found that pretty damn neat. Mega-City is a crime ridden dung heap with only the Judges to keep order as best they can. Judge Dredd is a by the book administrator of the law. Judges are judges, juries, and executioners of the law. He is assigned a rookie on her first day on the job. Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is a young girl who grew up in Mega-City only to loose both parents and end up on the street before she became a Judge. She has a special gift which I will not reveal, here because it explains how she became a Judge even though her test scores were below average. Their first task is to arrest the perp for a triple homocide in one of the gargantuan apartment buildings. The building, it turns out, happens to house Ma-Ma(Lena Headey). She is a vicious psychopath that runs the building and all of its residents and controls the market on the new drug, Slo-Mo. Slo-mo, as you might have guessed makes time seem to slow down as you inhale it. It's very addicting, lethal and the drug of choice for most of the residents. She locks down the entire building and issues a demand from the inhabitants. "Find the Judges and kill them." Lena Headey complete with a horribly scarred face plays Ma-Ma with an eerie iciness. "Skin them alive and throw them into the atrium", she says when a trio of competeing drug dealers are picked up by her crew. Let's just say if you get picked up her, "Save the last bullet for yourself".
Dredd is a phenominally good film. It's viscerally raw, gritty and very intense. Pete Travers, who directed the ok Vantage Point, directs this film with grace and style. Dredd is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in a while. Travers' choice of using slow motion on several scenes enhances the beauty of Dredd and Alex Garland's script is peppered with lots of dark humor that is expertly delivered by Karl Urban who, as I said is terrific as Dredd. You never see his face, only his mouth (in keeping with the comic, i have learned). But Urban is so good he can emit emotion just by his facial expressions so we know what he is thinking. Olivia Thirlby is great, too as Judge Anderson. She understands what it is like to be a person without hope on the street and she gen1995's Judge Dredd was savaged by critics and die hard comic fans who hated its tongue and cheek humor and general silliness. I did not hate it and actually found its campiness and Sylvester Stallone's choice of going over the top with the title character was endearing. Granted it is not Shakespeare, but I never read the comic book Dredd is based on so I was not as insulted by the liberties taken by the makers of the 1995 version.
Dredd 3D of 2012 is, to my understanding extremely faithful to the comic book. I have never been a big comic book fan. Watches and film scores are expensive enough for my vice. However, after watching Dredd 3D I will start looking for Dredd comic books. Dredd 3D does not need the gimmick of 3D. It is as solid as a film can get.
There is nothing, plot wise that has any connection to the Stallon picture. Only the title character (played well by Karl Urban) and his trusty firearm that can shoot just about any projectile that's loaded. The film starts in Mega-City, a endlessly sprawling metropolis of concrete, neon and people. Massive skyscrapers that can house 75000 people jut out of the ground like pillars from a distance. Most of the city shots are real shots of Johannesburg, South Africa. The filmmakers have gone in and digitally added the monsterous structures. All the shots of the city are of a real city (except for the block buildings). I found that pretty damn neat. Mega-City is a crime ridden dung heap with only the Judges to keep order as best they can. Judge Dredd is a by the book administrator of the law. Judges are judges, juries, and executioners of the law. He is assigned a rookie on her first day on the job. Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is a young girl who grew up in Mega-City only to loose both parents and end up on the street before she became a Judge. She has a special gift which I will not reveal, here because it explains how she became a Judge even though her test scores were below average. Their first task is to arrest the perp for a triple homocide in one of the gargantuan apartment buildings. The building, it turns out, happens to house Ma-Ma(Lena Headey). She is a vicious psychopath that runs the building and all of its residents and controls the market on the new drug, Slo-Mo. Slo-mo, as you might have guessed makes time seem to slow down as you inhale it. It's very addicting, lethal and the drug of choice for most of the residents. She locks down the entire building and issues a demand from the inhabitants. "Find the Judges and kill them." Lena Headey complete with a horribly scarred face plays Ma-Ma with an eerie iciness. "Skin them alive and throw them into the atrium", she says when a trio of competeing drug dealers are picked up by her crew. Let's just say if you get picked up her, "Save the last bullet for yourself".
Dredd is a phenominally good film. It's viscerally raw, gritty and very intense. Pete Travers, who directed the ok Vantage Point, directs this film with grace and style. Dredd is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in a while. Travers' choice of using slow motion on several scenes enhances the beauty of Dredd and Alex Garland's script is peppered with lots of dark humor that is expertly delivered by Karl Urban who, as I said is terrific as Dredd. You never see his face, only his mouth (in keeping with the comic, i have learned). But Urban is so good he can emit emotion just by his facial expressions so we know what he is thinking. Olivia Thirlby is great, too as Judge Anderson. She understands what it is like to be a person without hope on the street and she genuinely wants to "make a difference". But she also wants to enforce the laws to help those who just want to have a chance at a good life without the criminals ruining everything. Dredd is only 95 minutes long but it seems to be timed just right. It never loses its intensity and it is a well written and stunningly well made film. Dredd does not even need the gimmick of 3D. It is its own perfection. This is one I will purchase on dvd and look into the comic created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
Dredd 3D- **** out of 4
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