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The new "Robocop" trailer really got me interested in the kind of satirized violence-ridden media, like "Robocop" and its inspiration "Judge Dredd". Not the really bad Sylvester Stallone vehicle, the gritty and gory comic books that satirized the violence and legal-actions of media. It deconstructs the kind of "Dirty Harry"-like action heroes who would take the law into their own hand and kill as many as they please. In the dystopian world of "Judge Dredd", that's how the law works. The first movie didn’t get that at all, luckily “Dredd” was only able to faithfully portray its source material well to the cinematic treatment. It is also a very fun and gritty action movie. The movie manages to provide an interesting original story using the characters and setting from the comics. One thing that works for the film is that it’s a pretty small film. It only takes place in one large building that holds a whole section of people. This is especially compared to the two biggest comic-book movies of that year which featured grand scenes featuring the heroes dealing with large threats like an alien invasion and the takeover of an entire city by criminals. Nothing against those great movies but after some such grand action and epic scale, it is definitely nice to see something on a much smaller scope. Dredd knows the kind of movie that it wants to be and it does it very well. Karl Urban perfectly portrays the simple yet interesting main character, Judge Dredd. JD is the kind of character that isn't prone to emotional development, which is why the addition of the rookie Anderson (played by Olivia Thirlby) works very well. Dredd does some very interesting things that makes it stand out. For example, it manages to use the tired cliché of “slow-motion action scenes” and makes it an important plot point. Dredd’s visual style combines gritty survival with some trippy visuals that works without providing mood whiplash. It is a very gory film but the blood is intentionally ridiculous splatters, so it doesn’t get disturbing or exploitative. Overall, Dredd is an enjoyable movie that captures the spirit of its comic book origin while providing enjoyably brutal action. It is a shame that this movie bombed in the box office as I am definitely enjoying this movie’s cult audience who want to see a sequel to this film that explores more of these characters and setting. Even if we don’t get a sequel, I think Dredd works a solo film that recommend you check out.
8/10
