Dredd

[baumer]

Discuss

[75Live]

Fun movie. It was way more violent and gritty than Judge Dredd. Karl Urban fit the character nicely.

I won't give too much away yet, but the slow mo action scenes actually had a reasoning behind it. As the drug they were making was called Slow Mo and made the body think time was actually slowing down. So you were seeing the action from their point of view.

The 3D worked. Not great to me, but to me, it never is great anyway. But it was well used here.

My only "issue" with the movie was that the story really wasn't based around Dredd really. He is in it obviously, but it is more of the cop duo idea and the girl had the actual storyline.

I can see why the critics like it. It is shot very well and more "artistic" than I am sure they were expecting.

I have to say at least a B+. Possibly an A-

[Adm56]

Posted this elsewhere and then realized it's a review ...of sorts...I saw it earlier today and was underwhelmed. I'm torn between wishing they had a higher budget and being grateful for the film even being made (I've been a fan of the character forever...I even own a Judge Dredd pinball machine for crissakes). I don't know about modern Dredd comics but the ones I read in the 80's as a child had their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks and this new film has NONE of that. Can't put my finger on it exactly but the early comics had more WHIMSY. None of the dark humor that I remember is in this film...it just turns Dredd into an ultra violent cop without a hint of satire surrounding if that is even a good thing. In fact I think they launch into the whole thing with very little setup so don't blink if you aren't familar with the comics. I'm going to be slaughtered for saying this but I almost think the 1995 movie is better/suits the character more (although you'd really have to yank the 'making copies' guy from the last film for this to be an entirely truthful opinion). This movie needed more of Dredd despensing ridiculous sentences for minor crimes.

[Ozymandias]

Hahaha, I just got back from seeing this and it was a fucking blast. I seriously haven't walked out of the theater grinning like that in a LONG time. It was just really well made all around.

This definitely isn't your typical Hello Kitty Island Adventure sooperhero movie like the Avengers or every other dumb one made in the last 12 years, its pretty brutal in some parts. In fact, never once did I think I was actually watching one of those things... it felt like a movie set in a distant and grim future full of sadism with some scifi elements in it, a lot like Bladerunner. Also, 90% of the movie takes place inside a massive building with the main character kicking some serious ass and taking names like Die Hard, except on a whole new level. The violence in this movie is enough to make Quentin Tarantino blush, the music was perfect, the comedy was excellent and never felt forced or cheesy, Ma-Ma was a pretty menacing figure without ever really doing a whole lot, and the slow-mo scenes were just jaw-droppingly beautiful and uniquely done(they weren't pointless and for show because there is a drug that makes people think time is moving at 1% of normal speed). Actually, in some ways it felt like a wink to the action movies of the 80s. Also, I gotta say the last 5 minutes of the movie(after Ma-Ma's beautifully shot fall to her death), couldn't have been any better.

People who felt disappointed in Expendables 2 will certainly find redemption with this film.

"The perps were... uncooperative" at the end was my favorite dead-pan one liner in the film. It was delivered perfectly and I lost my shit when he said it

Easily one of the best movies I've seen this year. Its a shame this movie flopped, but it did have to deal with the stench of Stallone's Dredd. Its definitely gonna become a cult classic. I wonder if the really good fan and critic reaction to the film will be enough to greenlight a sequel after a few years of BR/DVD sales(which will probably be big) and TV contracts.

10/10 A+

Edited September 24, 2012 by Shpongle

[The Toymaker]

You cannot lump the blame onto the 1995 version. This bombed because there is no interest in the character. It's a predominantly UK supported character, so it flopping in the US was expected. The trailer didn't do it any favours either. It looked very gloomy and being set in one building is not a way to market your film. It just makes people feel claustrophobic being sat in a building watching other people in a building. That's why prison movies never really do that well in the cinema.All of that plus the fact that the fanboy crowd is so small, are the main reasons for its lack of interest this weekend. I can't see DVD sales being big either.

[YoursTruly]

I sort of reviewed Dredd in the Dredd Thread:

Dredd, how I love thee, let me count the ways:1. I love that the film resembles its protagonist. Lean and mean with nary ounce of fat or hint of sentimentality anywhere.2. I love Urban's portrayal of Dredd, all chin and growls and grimaces, but with a sense of something deeper underneath (which is alluded to in the film). And when the occasional deadpan response rolls around, you can't help but chuckle. Basically, he succeeds where Christian Bale failed.3. I love the character of Cassie Anderson. She's a fierce little asskicker who uses her abilities to maximum effect.4. I love Lena Headey's creepy, sadistic villain. With the scars and green teeth and running eyeliner and hair sticking every which way, there's something utterly hypnotic about her.5. I love the slow motion, with beads of water and broken glass suspended in the air like little diamonds, and fountains of blood jetting around like Hi-C fruit punch squeezed from a juice box.6. I love the art house violence. Brutal killings magnificently shot. I've never seen anything quite like it.7. I love the pounding score, which compliments the developments very well.8. I love the ending. I've heard some complaints, but I think it's perfect. In fact, the way in which Dredd handles events gives you the distinct impression this is just another day on job for him. Shoot lots of perps, train the occasional rookie, repeat. Awesome.9. Finally, I love the fact that this completes the greatest action trilogy of all time, namely the Cop Trapped in a Building With Lots of Bad Guys Trilogy, which of course includes Die Hard and The Raid.

[Ozymandias]

You cannot lump the blame onto the 1995 version. This bombed because there is no interest in the character. It's a predominantly UK supported character, so it flopping in the US was expected. The trailer didn't do it any favours either. It looked very gloomy and being set in one building is not a way to market your film. It just makes people feel claustrophobic being sat in a building watching other people in a building. That's why prison movies never really do that well in the cinema.All of that plus the fact that the fanboy crowd is so small, are the main reasons for its lack of interest this weekend. I can't see DVD sales being big either.

You can't deny Stallone's version was toxic shit. If it was never made I'm sure there would have been a lot more interest. I wouldn't have expected huge numbers, but around enough to break even.

[Adm56]

Comments from elsewhere on the net....quoted here for truth (Well except for the part about Wanted):Matt Baen:I read Dredd comics during the 80s. Judge Dredd '95 came much closer than the majority of fans will admit to the look and feel of the satiric, garish, often absurdist comic books. I think what happened with the '95 Dredd is that it was translated so directly to the screen (e.g. in live action, those ludicrously enormous shoulderpads make him look like a disco/glam rock cop) that fans were mortified by how silly it all seemed, so they disavowed the movie. If '95 had featured his weeping robot sidekick, the plantlike hippie cult leader, Futurama-esque goofy-looking mutants, diseases that turn people into disembodied talking mouths, flying rat hordes, etc. fans would have been screaming blue murder. Aside: Dredd was not originally supposed to be a "cool" badass - he's a vicious satire of right wing law-and-orderism in seventies recession Britain.I haven't seen Dredd '12 yet. I like Karl Urban and enjoyed Punisher: War Zone, District B13, and Escape From New York. So this year's Dredd may be quite good in its own right - I may even like it more than JD '95 - but rather than being set in the Dredd universe it looks like another 'grim 'n' gritty' vaguely futuristic generic actioner in a generic city with generic heavily armed guys with Matrix/300-style slow-mo. (Nothing wrong with the latter, Wanted pulled it off very well.)Robocop is even closer to the Dredd concept than '95 in terms of the black comedic satire of corporate control, militarist policing, and urban decay. But not visually; Sly's nailed it. Minority Report also has Dreddish themes and coincidentally has elements of 95's plot.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Adm56

[Jay Beezy]

I think what happened with the '95 Dredd is that it was translated so directly to the screen (e.g. in live action, those ludicrously enormous shoulderpads make him look like a disco/glam rock cop) that fans were mortified by how silly it all seemed, so they disavowed the movie.

But for how much of the movie did Sly look like the disco/glam rock cop? Remember, in that movie he was framed and his judge clothes taken away from him, leading to the lack of the iconic helmet for the majority of the movie, and turned it into a thoroughly generic Stallone film. Fans were mortified by the look of the judge? Guess he didn't read around much regarding their complaints. Edited September 25, 2012 by Jay Beezy

[The Toymaker]

You can't deny Stallone's version was toxic shit. If it was never made I'm sure there would have been a lot more interest. I wouldn't have expected huge numbers, but around enough to break even.

I can. I love the '95 version. It had the right atmosphere for a Judge Dredd movie, the only thing that didn't quite work was the helmet being off for most of the movie. That is it. This Dredd is far too violent and serious, not like the comics.

[Adm56]

I can. I love the '95 version. It had the right atmosphere for a Judge Dredd movie, the only thing that didn't quite work was the helmet being off for most of the movie. That is it. This Dredd is far too violent and serious, not like the comics.

Agreed. People seem to like the ultra violence and while I'm not bothered by violent movies it seems like the filmmakers latched on to that element of the character and didn't bother to include any other aspects of him or his world.And if I wasn't a fan of the comics I think I would have been bothered by the gobblygook they never really explain other than in passing like iso-cubes etc. It would be obvious that it's some sort of prison cell but some of the jargon with no background seems silly.I think Dredd is a decent 'random violent future cop' movie but it lacks most of what makes Dredd Dredd. Urban did a decent job with what he had to work with (I think he was great in Star Trek and Red) but it's not enough like the comics IMO.

[The Toymaker]

I also like the violence, and I suspect I will think it's a good movie, but what annoys me is how when Judge Dredd came out people picked on how un-Dredd-like it was (comparing every detail to the comics etc.), yet now Dredd is here, because they like the violence, there isn't a mention of how it doesn't represent the comics.

I look forward to watching Dredd on DVD. I wish those pirates would hurry up.

[Adm56]

I'll buy it on blu-ray despite not liking it. I'm a Dredd fan so I guess it's better than nothing.

[The Toymaker]

I used to have tons of old 2000AD newspaper comics, and the first two comics from the Dredd series from Eagle Comics in the USA, and although I cherished them for many years and read the 2000AD's regularly, I was more of a fan of the nostalgia of keeping them than being an overt Dredd fan. I suppose the reason I like Dredd in any way is down to Stallone.I wish they'd make a film of Finn. He was the best. Rogue Trooper too, that'd be fun. Perhaps create a 2000AD universe, like Marvel are doing. There's so many fun characters.

Edited September 25, 2012 by The Toymaker

[Ozymandias]

I can. I love the '95 version. It had the right atmosphere for a Judge Dredd movie, the only thing that didn't quite work was the helmet being off for most of the movie. That is it. This Dredd is far too violent and serious, not like the comics.

:rofl:You'll just never admit Stallone has been a part of something bad. Judge Dredd felt like a live action cartoon, thats how bad it was. In some scenes I almost expected Stallone to turn and look at the camera and wink, but the poor guy was taking it seriously.Dredd was very well written and even artistic, its not just an action movie. The only complaints I've heard about this movie is that its "too serious and glorifies violence!" which pretty much says it all.

[Jay Beezy]

:rofl:You'll just never admit Stallone has been a part of something bad. Judge Dredd felt like a live action cartoon, thats how bad it was. In some scenes I almost expected Stallone to turn and look at the camera and wink, but the poor guy was taking it seriously.Dredd was very well written and even artistic, its not just an action movie. The only complaints I've heard about this movie is that its "too serious and glorifies violence!" which pretty much says it all.

Judge Dredd was a Sylvester Stallone movie. Dredd 3D was a Dredd movie.And let's not forget, John Wagner, co-creator of Dredd and 2,000 AD, despised Judge Dredd and was a heavy consultant on Dredd 3D. Do some of you want to try and take your case to him? Edited September 25, 2012 by Jay Beezy

[rahvinn87]

The thing is that, taking aside each films worthiness as an adaptation, the 1995 Judge Dredd is just not a very good film, whereas Dredd 3d is.

I couldn't give a rat's about how well it adapts the comics, give me a good film that's a bad adaptation over a bad film that's a good adaptation any day of the week.

[Adm56]

The thing is that, taking aside each films worthiness as an adaptation, the 1995 Judge Dredd is just not a very good film, whereas Dredd 3d is.

I couldn't give a rat's about how well it adapts the comics, give me a good film that's a bad adaptation over a bad film that's a good adaptation any day of the week.

That's just silly. If they were going to blow off everything that made the character popular in the first place they might as well just have made a film about some random ultra violent futuristic super cop.

Lets face it...when a filmmaker signs on to make a Dredd movie (or an Iron-man movie, or a Batman movie....or even a historical figure etc) they should have SOME obligation to capture the important characteristics of that character. And yes I understand 're-inventing a character' but more often than not that's just filmmaking masturbation by someone who lacks a strong enough original idea and needs to latch on to someone else's work.

This movie pays lipservice to fans by providing familar character names etc but misses the whole point otherwise.

[rahvinn87]

That's just silly. If they were going to blow off everything that made the character popular in the first place they might as well just have made a film about some random ultra violent futuristic super cop.Lets face it...when a filmmaker signs on to make a Dredd movie (or an Iron-man movie, or a Batman movie....or even a historical figure etc) they should have SOME obligation to capture the important characteristics of that character. And yes I understand 're-inventing a character' but more often than not that's just filmmaking masturbation by someone who lacks a strong enough original idea and needs to latch on to someone else's work.This movie pays lipservice to fans by providing familar character names etc but misses the whole point otherwise.

I'm sorry but that's just not what I've heard from most comic fans.Go and listen to Mark Kermode's podcast (if you don't already) from I think one or two weeks ago, there's one very specific example on there of a hardcore Dredd fan who hated the Stallone movie and loved the new one.Then also go back and read about the fan reception at comic con.Next I'm going to link you the 2000ad forums here:http://forums.2000ad...ic,34200.0.htmlI'm sorry but you're just flat out not representative of other Dredd comic fans when you say it isn't a good adaptation.....In any case that's entirely not the point I was trying to make, but whatever.

[Jay Beezy]

Go and listen to Mark Kermode's podcast (if you don't already) from I think one or two weeks ago, there's one very specific example on there of a hardcore Dredd fan who hated the Stallone movie and loved the new one.

I already brought up what John Wagner said. I shouldn't have to bring it up again. But to think that some so-called fans know what's better for the character onscreen than one of the co-creators himself.