Dredd 3D
Judgement’s Coming
What is it with atmospheric precipitation and science fiction? Ever since Ridley Scott’sBlade Runner, it always seems to be pissing it down in the neon-lit, mean streets of the future.
Thank God then for Dredd 3D! Finally someone has delivered a grim, gritty, grungy vision of a futuristic dystopia where it isn't raining! Ravaged by war, America has become a radioactive desert wasteland, the Cursed Earth. Covering the Eastern Seaboard, stretching South from the ruins of what was Boston to Washington D.C., lies Mega City One – a vast, violent, teeming metropolis that’s home to 800 million people.
Policing this brave new world is the job of the Judges – street cops with the powers of judge, jury and, if need be, instant executioner – and the most feared lawman in the city is the intractable Judge Dredd (Karl Urban). Tasked with evaluating underachieving rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a mutant with a powerful psychic ability (reading minds makes solving crimes so much easier), their first job takes them to the 200-storey Peach Trees block to investigate a triple murder, bringing them into conflict with ruthless crime lord (or should that be lady?) Ma-Ma (Lena Heady).
Ma-Ma rules this vertical slum as if it’s her own personal kingdom and is the city’s major supplier of Slo-Mo, a drug that slows the user’s perceptions of time (allowing for some stunningly beautiful, 3D bullet-time sequences). When Dredd and Anderson arrest Kay (Wood Harris), one of her right-hand men, for his part in the murders, Ma-Ma seals the building off from the outside world and orders the death of the Judges over the building’s PA, offering a bounty on their heads. Trapped, with no way out, Dredd and Anderson must battle Ma-Ma’s personal army to end her reign of terror.
From its breathless opening to its stunning, beautiful and nasty climax Dredd 3D is a gritty, sombre piece of balls-to-the-wall popcorn mayhem. Made by a team who obviously know and love the original comic, it should satisfy fans and filmgoers alike. It's a comic book movie that, for once, is actually made for adults and more than lays to rest the dreaded spectre of 1995’s Stallone-starring Judge Dredd. There’s no love interest, no backstory, no comedy sidekick. A fan of the character since childhood, writer Alex Garland’s tight, economical, intelligent script delivers the movie the fans were crying out for, capturing the essence of Dredd and his world. It’s a piece of epic world building which, like the comic it’s based on, owes a huge debt to JG Ballard’s very British dystopian fantasies (Crash, Concrete Island and particularly High Rise).
Karl Urban is great as Dredd (practically carved from granite) and, his face masked by Dredd’s helmet, does some of the best chin-acting you’ll ever see, giving Kirk Douglas and Matt Smith a run for their money. His Dredd is gruff, humourless, a stoic, almost mythic, avatar of blind justice. As the vicious hooker-turned-gang boss Ma-Ma, Lena Heady is truly terrifying even before you find out how she killed her pimp and took over his empire (hint: she bit it off) and Olivia Thirlby is just the right mix of softness and steel as Anderson, providing the heart to the movie’s muscle. The film is really her story, her baptism of fire turning her from a callow, inexperienced rookie into a tough, battle-hardened warrior
The 3D is stunning, immersive and actually worth the sore head that always comes with 3D movies while the Slo-Mo scenes attain a beauty that transcends the carnage. The action is breathless and unapologetically violent, director Pete Travis serving up, in almost fetishistic detail, splattered heads and blown off limbs. Ma-Ma has some rivals skinned as a warning not to steal from her. Dredd crushes a bad guy’s throat. Buckets of blood and brains are splashed up the Peach Trees walls. Urban gets to growl Dredd's most famous line: "I am the Law!" What more do you need to know? Dredd 3Dis a bruising 95 minutes of visceral pleasure.
A refreshingly mean, moody slice of ultra-violent fun with some brutal, breathtakingly beautiful carnage, Dredd 3D is jaw-droppingly thrilling, satisfying, Saturday night entertainment.
And for all you geeky fan-boys out there, here’s a spoiler for you: Dredd never takes off his helmet. You can rest easy.
David Watson
Directed by:
Written by:
Alex Garland based on characters created by Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner
Produced by:
Starring:
Karl Urban, Lena Headey, Olivia Thirlby, Domhnall Gleeson, Wood Harris, Warwick Grier, Deobia Oparei
Genres:
Action, Sci-Fi
Language:
English
Runtime:
1 hour 35 minutes
Certificate:
18
Rating:
5/5
UK Release Date:
Friday 7th September
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