New action film draws inspiration from Sylvester Stallone original
Movies like “Dredd” are not for people with weak stomachs.
It’s one of those films that revels in gory, graphic violence so much that it doesn’t take five minutes to settle into the plot before we see an incendiary bullet melt a junkie’s brain from inside his skull.
This type of violence should avert the eyes of the average viewer, but “Dredd” has a way of presenting it in a visually mesmerizing way, much better than how the original film, 1995’s “Judge Dredd” with Sylvester Stallone, turned out. Though it contains action and effects that lose their appeal with time, “Dredd” is still surprisingly better than expected thanks to its stylish presentation.
Replacing Stallone as Dredd is Karl Urban, the same actor who played Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the latest “Star Trek” film — although viewers probably wouldn’t know that until the ending credits since Dredd has a helmet on for the entire film. Urban’s role is like a cross between Christian Bale’s Batman and Tom Hardy’s Bane: Urban speaks in a throaty growl while the use of the helmet raises the question of whether this can be called a full performance.
“Dredd” takes place in a dystopian society where people live in a vast metropolis called Mega City One, and the only people upholding the law are supercops called “judges.” Dredd takes the new psychic rookie, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), on a pass-or-fail mission to decide if she’s judge material, only for the movie to go into “The Raid: Redemption” mode when they’re eventually trapped in a 200-story housing project known as Peach Trees.
Out to get these two judges is a vicious drug lord known as Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), whom Dredd is determined to bring to justice. It’s the story of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object as we enjoy eyes being shot out, bloody slow-motion and even some slightly disturbing sexuality.
Since the story also centers on a science-fiction narcotic that makes a junkie’s brain feel like it’s moving at 1 percent its normal speed, slow-motion effects often bombard the film, so much so that Zack Snyder (“300”) would drool over it. Though these effects are the movie’s best scenes, they also come off as overdone and the novelty wears off after multiple times.
But “Dredd” isn’t a complete waste of the extra $3 for 3-D. The film is indeed visually impressive from the opening shot of the dystopian wasteland to the slow-motion effects. Director Pete Travis takes careful consideration to setting and lighting when administering the 3-D effects, preventing what could have been a grim, headache-inducing experience.
This story feels like it’s borrowed from a video game, as it features the protagonists moving from level to level in the building. But that’s OK because the action sequences are well-choreographed and the grim setting easily fits with the dark characters.
Being a “shoot the bad guy” kind of movie, don’t expect anything in terms of character development, especially with Dredd’s emotionless yet humorously deadpan character. The only character who presents a hint of emotion and development is Anderson, as we see when she realizes that one of Ma-Ma’s junkies she killed has a family within the Peach Trees project. But the ending is still a disappointing emotional payoff.
Even though he’s portraying the estranged cousin of “Robocop,” Urban brushes off all the silliness that came with Stallone’s Judge Dredd and replaces it with a gruff coolness that fits the character much better. That scowling gruffness especially helps to deliver the dark humor the film sometimes needs.
It’s a shame the screenwriters couldn’t pit Dredd against a more noteworthy villain, though. Sure, Headey’s character is sadistic and psychotic, but the story really doesn’t leave much to the imagination when it comes to the final confrontation. As Ma-Ma, Headey does present some over-the-top zest, but she also ruins the illusion that is her character in “Game of Thrones” for fantasy fans.
“Dredd” definitely won’t appeal to everyone, not even some fans within its own genre. But in the end, “Dredd” is just another harmless, fun film for people who enjoy seeing bullets shot through heads in slow-motion.