I'm not sure what's more surprising: the fact that we are
seeing the Judge Dredd character back on the big screen or that the movie is
actually pretty good. Sly Stallone
spoiled the Dredd name back in the "˜90s with a flick that was so focused on its
star that the filmmakers forgot to, you know, make an actual movie. With a new
lead actor and a grittier style, director Pete Travis hopes to erase all traces of the failed Stallone vehicle. Luckily, Dredd is
exactly the kind of movie the first should have been, a bloody and violent "˜80s-style
action movie that packs a punch and isn't afraid of silly one-liners.
In the future, the United States is a wasteland with most
people living in giant mega-cities.
The cops have the authority to carry out arrests, convictions, and
ultimately executions. When a new, highly addictive drug, conveniently dubbed
"SLO-MO", hits the streets it's up to Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and rookie Judge
Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to stop the strangely reserved yet vicious gang
leader Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and save the day.
Karl Urban brings an iron-jawed menace to the character that
was absent from the previous incarnation. He plays it rough and straight while
still delivering some hilarious zingers to the many dead bad guys that litter
the screen. Dredd is the kind of movie that has a slow motion action sequence
where, in intricate detail, we see a bullet disappear through a bad guy's head
and reappear amid a shower of brain matter and blood. The movie isn't shy about the violence and hits the body
count quota halfway through.
The story is simple and thankfully never gets any more
complicated than 2 cops against a building full of gang members, allowing the
bullets to do most of the talking. Karl Urban doesn't get to have all the fun either; Olivia
Thirlby gets a few unique sequences involving her character's psychic powers
that are just as impressively staged as the many gun battles throughout the
film. Some gorgeous visuals, plenty of hardcore violence and a "take no shit"
attitude from Karl Urban help destroy the sour taste of the "˜90s version while
(hopefully) ushering in a new Dredd
series worthy of our attention and not our scorn.
