I've been a Dredd fan for thirty years now, but I'm not about to give this movie adaptation of my favourite comic character a ridiculously high rating purely from some misguided sense of loyalty. Instead, I'm going to give it a deservingly high score because, quite simply, it is a very good film, one that successfully captures the essence of the 2000AD strip, delivering brutal action by the bucket-load, excellent central performances, and inspired direction, all enhanced by breathtaking state-of-the-art 3D special effects.
After the debacle that was Stallone's Judge Dredd (1995), the makers of this movie have clearly made their prime directive to please hardcore Dredd fans, and it shows: the screenplay, by Alex Garland, remains very faithful to the spirit of the comic, and in Karl Urban, we now have the perfect Dredd-all raspy voice and humourless grimace, it looks as though the character has jumped straight onto the screen from the pages of 2000AD (helmet intact). Similarly, it would be hard to imagine anyone more suitable than Olivia Thirlby as rookie Psi-Judge Anderson (and believe me, I've tried!).
Is Dredd 3D my 'ideal' Dredd movie? Not quite... made for a comparatively meagre budget of $45million, it would be hard pushed to live up to my impossibly high expectations (just realising the Mega-City One of my dreams would require way more money than it cost to make this entire film). That said, it is definitely a massive step in the right direction, and if it is the financial success that it genuinely deserves to be, who knows what treats await us in the future: The Cursed Earth, Judge Cal, Judge Death, The Apocalypse War.... I'm salivating like a Klegg just thinking about it.
** EDIT - 5th April 2021 **
Just watched Dredd again, this time without the benefit of 3D, and found it less impressive than I remembered. I was struck more than before by how poorly Mega City One is presented, with vehicles that look like they're from now instead the end of the 21st century. Little effort was spent in making the environment appear futuristic - things like computer keyboards and electric fans are still as they are today. Budget was clearly an issue, and it shows.
Also, the whole 'Wait' conversation doesn't work for me. The bad judge would've plugged Dredd in the head instead of allowing him to buy time.
I still love Urban's portrayal, and the violence is cool, but I really hope that if there is a next time, they make the film look more like the comics.
Old rating: 8/10
New rating: 6.5/10, rounded up to 7. It's still good, just not great.
