Fans of John Wagner's hyper-violent comic book anti-hero Judge Dredd got screwed royally with the horrible 1995 film. It simply had nothing to do with anything Wagner created, and couldn't decide if it wanted to lampoon the character or celebrate it. But it's at the very least memorable for just how clownish Sylvester Stallone was constantly mugging for the camera. Finally, Judge Dredd fans have the movie they've been waiting for with Dredd 3D, an unashamedly violent and hard R-rated splatterfest that will make action genre yell "I am the law!!"
Directed by Pete Travis and with Karl Urban hiding his face under the lawman's bucket helmet, Dredd sets its roots in the dystopian district of Mega City One. Riddled with crime and massive unemployment, the law is enforced with brutally swift justice by masked "Judges". Dredd is basically the king bad ass amongst an entire force of bad asses, the personification of the dark path the world has taken after a nuclear event. The Judges are granted full authority to be judge, jury, and enthusiastic executioner of their targets. After a scorching introduction to his brand of justice, Dredd is saddled with an unwanted rookie partner in mutant telepath Cassandra Anderson(Olivia Thirlby). Her altruistic worldview immediately clashes with Dredd's "let God sort 'em out " approach.
Their first shot out of the gate is to put a stop to Ma-Ma(Lena Headey), a scarred up druglord with a violent streak who has infested all of Mega City One with a lethal drug known as Slo-Mo. The effects of the narcotic are visualized in vibrant slow motion effects as the user's perception eases to a crawl. In a vicious act of cruelty, Ma-Ma injects three of her gang with Slo-Mo and tosses them off the highest tower so they experience every waking moment of their freefall. The murder draws Dredd and Anderson to the massive Peach Trees towers, where they are promptly trapped inside with all of Ma-Ma's armed goons. The only way to survive is to fight their way to the top and take Ma-Ma down.Strikingly similar to this year's awesome silat fight flick The Raid: Redemption, the action in Dredd is less physical combat and more explosive all-out hardware. Bullets are sprayed with reckless abandon, and the slow motion is used to stunning effectiveness showing their devastating effects on the human body. This film is not for the weak of stomach, or the soft of constitution. Alex Garland's script is sparse and bleak, capturing perfectly Wagner's fascistic vision. Travis shows a real visual flair for the action sequences, with the 3D actually enhancing the experience.
Urban is simply fantastic as Dredd, capturing the character's swagger and Old West gunfighter attitude. He growls every line with confidence, and even manages to humanize Dredd just a little. Thirlby is perfectly adequate even though we know she's capable of so much more. Headey doesn't get much help from the script, as it never really portrays her as a legitimate enough threat. That's the problem with a character like Judge Dredd. He's so unstoppable that the final showdown tends to be a letdown.
While Dredd 3D is exactly what fans of the character have been dying for, lovers of hardcore action flicks will also be more than satisfied.
