January 27, 2013
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Dredd (2012)
Dredd (2012)
ABOUT
The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge
DIRECTOR
Pete Travis (Other works include “Vantage Point” (2008), “Endgame” (2009) and “Omagh” (2004))
STARRING
Karl Urban as Dredd (also starred in “Star Trek (2009)”. “Priest” and “Red”)
Olivia Thirlby as Cassandra Anderson (also starred in “The Darkest Hour”, “Juno” and “United 93″)
Lena Headey as Ma-Ma (also starred in “300″, ” The Brothers Grimm” and “Imagine Me & You”)
Wood Harris as Corazon (also starred in “Remember the Titians”, and “As Good As it Gets”)
Langley Kirkwood as Judge Lex (also starred in “Invictus” and the “Endgame”)
Junior Singo as Amos (also starred in “In My Country”, “Beat The Drum” and “The Wooden Camera”)
The basic aim of Dredd is simple – it needs to be bold, true to the source material and full of juicy violence, to the point that wipe out the memories of the notoriously poor Stallone attempt. I believe this movie succeeds.
The film is written by Alex Garland (28 Days later, Sunshine), and has had plenty of input from Dredd’s creator (and still main writer even now) John Wagner. Karl Urban (Dredd), who has previously stood out for turn as Dr McCoy in the new Star Trek revival, was bot afraid to go through an entire movie with a helmet on. He is spot on as Dredd. He gives us an emotionless machine, a man who cares for nothing but the law, but a man you want to get behind and cheer on as he shoots the bad guys. The humanity comes from Anderson, and it helps that she have to wear a helmet herself, with the handy excuse that it interferes with her psi abilities.
The film does not aim high in terms of blockbuster material, but instead tells a very focused, character driven story – a day in the life of a Judge tale that will have you thankful you don’t have to walk in their shoes.
What follows is a harsh look into a dark world. If there is a hell on earth, then Mega City 1 is most certainly it. A futuristic version of New York with very few of the positives.
Unemployment is a rampant plague that feeds the city’s crime. The sky is littered with Justice Department surveillance drones and infractions for crime, if you’re unlucky enough to be spotted, are harshly dealt with. Many film-makers would have flinched at making such a movie incorporating such clear violence and obvious fascism, and tried to soften the blow with lashings of humor but this movie has done no such thing. The result is an extremely violent, often times bleak adaptation of a comic character that was always more violent than its peers to begin with.
In Short…. For the long time fans of the comic book…..Dredd has finally arrived on screen
