ANALYSIS:

DREDD is a sci-fi action film people are likely to ignore unfortunately even though it is much better than the Sylvester Stallone take on it in the first adaptation (known as JUDGE DREDD) of the famous comic book hero in the British comic book magazine 2000 A.D. due to smart direction, a well written script from Alex Garland, and a Clint Eastwood inspired performance from Karl Urban.   In DREDD, Judge Dredd (Urban) is assigned with assessing the performance of Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) who has strong telepathic abilities and has below performance scores for being a Street Judge.  It is the future where humanity has walled themselves in big cities that stretch for hundreds of miles.  Mega-City One has a population of 800 million and it is location in the North American section of what is known as the cursed Earth.   Only one percent of crimes are investigated and a new drug called Slow-Mo is on the streets.  Slo-Mo makes the user experience time at one percent of real time.   Dredd and Anderson investigate three murders in the Peach Trees City Block which is controlled by Ma-Ma.  They become trapped in the building when they take prisoner the guy who knows all about Ma-Ma's operations.   She wants both judges dead as Dredd and Anderson must engage in a fight for their lives.

 

DREDD is a gritty sci-fi film made on a modest budget of $45 million in South Africa.   Think of a sci-fi crime movie with a futuristic version of Dirty Harry who always wears a helmet (and you don't see his face) in a city much bigger than any we have today.  Dredd and Anderson make a good team even though both of them work well on their own too.  Lena Headey is just deadly and evil as Ma-Ma.   You can also draw comparisons to the equally cool THE RAID: REDEMPTION which mostly takes place in one building like DREDD does.  Most of the 3D is wasted except for a few cool effects shots.  You can see some of the more static scenes just fine without the 3D glasses.  

 

 I do hope DREDD does make enough to earn a sequel because I want to see more of the post-apocalyptic universe of the Mega-Cities and the Cursed earth.  I am intrigued where writer Alex Garland wants to take the sequels.   It is also good that Judge Dredd writer John Wagner is involved with this movie.  DREDD is an awesome crime action film that washes away the memory of that other film known as JUDGE DREDD.   Keep it coming and go watch it because I want to see a sequel soon.  

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

MEGA-CITY MASTERS: 35 YEARS OF JUDGE DREAD- a 14 minute look at the history and storylines of the Judge Dredd comics from some of the writers and artists of Judge Dredd

DAY OF CHAOS: THE VISUAL EFFECTS OF DREDD 3D- a thorough look at the various visual effects including incorporating cgi buildings into real cityscapes to create MegaCity One and digital set extensions

 

The other featurettes are way too brief and come off as promo fluff:

DREAD

DREAD’S GEAR

THE 3rd DIMENSION- filming in 3D

WELCOME TO PEACH TREES

 

Rounding out the extras are the original theatrical trailer and motion comic prequel that focuses on the origins of Ma-Ma.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:   DREDD is one of the most under watched and underrated action movies of 2011.     Rent or buy it on Blu-ray.  3D Blu-ray player/ 3D HDTV owners will be able to see it in 3D.

 

this review is (c)1-9-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com