MOVIE REVIEW - Dredd

Long time comic book character Judge Dredd is back at the movies this week. You might remember the ill-advised 1995 Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stallone.  This Dredd, is not that.

It is the future, and America is in a post nuclear war state.   800 million people live in confined areas and in terrible conditions.  The only justice system are "the judges."   What they are is this.  Highly trained and armed police officers that go to crime scenes and not only investigate the crime, but carry out justice on the spot, and that can include execution.   All done under a veil of secrecy.  Judges are feared by the masses as they are the ultimate power.

In our story, Judge Dredd and his rookie Judge go into a horrible area where there is murder and drug trafficking.   There is a new drug called  "slo-mo."  And our villain Mama, is attempting to take over the entire city with drug a highly addictive drug, and extreme violence.  After Mama learns of the Judges presence, she orders them killed, so she can carry on with building her illegal empire.   Then enter some politics, and some cops on the take and you have a deeper story than you might imagine from Dredd.

Dredd has a very different feel from Judge Dredd 1995. JD1995 had a sense of the comic book, and even a cartoon feel to it at times. Yes there was violence, but it wasn't all that heavy.  What we did have was Stallone totally overacting, and quite frankly delivering lines like he was completely drunk most of the time, and it became kind of a joke that summer.  Who doesn't remember, "I am....the law!"    What the heck was that Stallone?

Dredd is very different. Dredd is very serious, and has lost all connection to the1995 moviein its feel.  Some of the costuming is similar but it stops there.  It has followed the latest Batman series model.  Very dark, very serious, socially aware, and very violent at times.  The villain here, Mama, is much in the same mold as the Batman villains.   Dark, and actually terrorists.  This has been written in a very intense mode that young movie goers today like, and the 3-D makes it play out like a video game at times.  But to be clear, this is not Batman.   Those movies are events.  Dredd is just a movie.

Dredd is actor Karl Urban and he is well cast.   Very smart to cast a basic under the radar actor in Urban.   You only see Dredd, and someone playing Dredd.   That was one of the fatal flaws with the 1995 Dredd.  You saw Stallone looking drunk, as opposed to Judge Dredd.  

This is violent, but not over the top.  It's not overly intelligent, but there are far less cerebral flicks.   Effects are decent, action is fair, and overall Dredd is OK.   This will not blow anyone away, but there are moments that are compelling, and well done.  The final action scene is very well done, and is one you don't see coming.

Dredd.   Not great, but not a washout either.