Dredd 3D

Logline: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.

Cast: Karl Urban, Oliva Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris

Directed by: Pete Travis

I wasn't sure what to expect going into Dredd 3D. Critics had given it pretty good ratings, but the only thing I really knew about Judge Dredd was the fact that the director Pete Travis is known for directing Vantage Point, which I didn't like. I also knew that it was a remake and the first version featured Sylvester Stallone - and apparently it pissed off comic fans because he took off his helmet in that one. Anyways, I don't really read comics, so this review is purely based on my knowledge as a movie watcher.

Review

Dredd....

I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit. For a movie that I didn't see advertised much, I definitely didn't expect the quality of special effects that it had. Maybe the use of SLO-MO was used a little excessively, but they didn't get toooooo carried away with it. I'm not usually one to address special effects, because let's face it, if I did that I'd have to give Transformers 2 & 3 at least a little bit of kudos - so I digress.

The story is actually solid. It uses the exact same model as The Raid, which I reviewed awhile back. Except, Dredd is by himself with a trainee that is on her first day. Actually, she's not even a trainee really because she didn't pass her test to certify her as a Judge. So they're both stuck in a building that's on complete lockdown - and when I say lockdown I mean there is NO way out whatsoever. It's futuristic, so the building actually has lockdown mode and these barriers come down on each sides of the building. The main drug lord is a woman on a mission to kill Dredd for taking one of her men hostage - someone who knows a lot about her business that she can't afford turning on her. The movie goes through stages, raises stakes, and there's always urgency because Dredd is never given a moment to rest.

My TOTD is very spoiler heavy and it doesn't really say much about what I learnt from watching the movie, it's just something I picked up that I thought I'd mention.

Topic of the Day

I'm going to start by repeating myself... I know absolutely nothing about the comics at all, so take this as you will, it's just something I thought of during the movie that I thought was pretty cool.

I'm not sure if this was meant to be, or if everyone knew this, but I looked it up on numerous sites and found nothing on it. So, here goes... I actually think Judge Dredd could read minds just like his sidekick Anderson. In the beginning of the movie, he's looking at Anderson through a window and without seeing him Anderson was able to pretty much tell who he was. In the midst of her description, she stops and says she feels something unusual about him. Something... and it's stopped there. Later on in the movie, Dredd gets shot in the leg and falls to the ground. Then they go through that whole "wait" dialogue for a few seconds and Anderson comes around the corner and saves his life. THEN at the end of the movie, he risks everyone in the building by throwing Ma-Ma the drug lord off the top floor to her death at the bottom, calling her bluff that her heartbeat would detonate explosives through the whole building if it stopped. He actually doesn't even seem to think twice. I may be completely wrong here, but don't all signs lead to Dredd being able to read minds? Just a thought anyway.

Consensus

Dredd 3D was a surprisingly well done movie. It doesn't have the depth of such comic superheroes as Spiderman or Batman, but it's still a really fun trapped in a building movie with Gatling guns, slow-motion drugs, a bad ass main character, and a ruthless drug lord. It sucks this movie didn't do too well at the box office, it sure deserved more.

7.5/10