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Rated
R (Strong Bloody Violence, Language, Drug Use and some Sexual Content)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 35 Minutes
Cast-
Karl
Urban-Judge Joseph Dredd
Olivia
Thirlby-Judge Cassandra Anderson
Lena
Headey- Madeline
Madrigal/Ma-Ma
Wood
Harris-Kay
Warrick
Grier-Caleb
Langley
Kirkwood-Judge Lex
Edwin
Perry-Judge Alvarez
Karl
Thaning-Judge Chan
Michele
Levin-Judge Kaplan
Domhnall
Gleeson-Clan Techie
Rakie
Ayola-Chief Judge
Directed
by Pete Travis
 |
| "I am the law!" Karl Urban prepares to dispense some justice in "Dredd 3D." |
When
it comes to remakes, sometimes I wonder if Hollywood studio executives are
actual people or really monkeys wearing expensive suits. For instance, take
August's "Total Recall," a totally unnecessary remake that
spectacularly failed to capture the nuance of the Arnold Schwarzenegger
original or the Philip K. Dick short
story that it's based on. Instead, director Len Wiseman opted to throw a deluge
of meaningless CG effects in a transparent attempt to mask his film's
shortcomings. I just do not understand why Hollywood insists on remaking good movies but not the bad ones. The recent release of
"Dredd 3D" is one of those rare examples where a remake actually makes sense, as the original
was downright terrible. Based on the U.K. 2000
AD comic book character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra in 1977,
1995's "Judge Dredd" starred Sylvester Stallone as the titular
character but the film was a massive flop with critics (16% on Rotten Tomatoes)
and audiences, grossing a paltry $34.7 million at the domestic box office,
although it was modest success overseas with $78.8 million. Expressing his
dislike for the original, Wagner remarked in a recent interview with Empire magazine that it 'had nothing to
do with Judge Dredd, and Judge Dredd wasn't really Judge Dredd.' Even Stallone
admitted that it was 'a real missed opportunity.' Although writer Alex Garland
began working on the script as early as 2006, development on a new film
adaptation wasn't formally announced until December 2008 as an independent
project under British studio DNA Films. With director Pete Travis at the helm
and Karl Urban as Dredd himself, filming finally commenced in Cape Town, South
Africa in November 2010. Brutally violent yet grounded in realism, "Dredd
3D" may not break any new ground or offer anything that can be called original
but it remains a tightly edited and highly entertaining piece of genre
filmmaking.
In the distant future, a devastating nuclear war has transformed
much of the United States into an irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed
Earth. The surviving human populations now reside in massive metropolis' called
mega-cities, with the largest being Mega-City One, which covers much of the
east coast of North America from Boston to Washington, D.C. and is home to over
800 million residents. Cesspools of crime, unemployment, and poverty, the only
people who are able to contain the violence are the Judges, law enforcement
officers granted with the powers of judge, jury, and executioner. After taking
down a group of thugs in a high-speed chase, Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is
ordered to return to the Hall of Justice and meet with the Chief Judge (Rakie
Ayola), who tasks him with evaluating a rookie named Cassandra Anderson (Olivia
Thirlby), a psychic who failed her exam to become a full Judge. Meanwhile, a
drug kingpin named Madeline Madrigal, nicknamed Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), who rules
the 200-story slum tower block Peach Trees with an iron fist and controls the
distribution of a powerful narcotic known as 'Slo-Mo' (which slows the user's
perception of time to 1% of actual speed), decides to make an example of three
small-time dealers by flaying and throwing their bodies from the top of the
tower. Dredd and Anderson decide to investigate the triple homicide, busting up
a drug den for information and arresting Kay (Wood Harris), one of Ma-Ma's key
distributers of Slo-Mo. Anderson psychically learns that Kay was involved in
the murders but just to be sure, Dredd decides to bring him to the Hall of
Justice to be interrogated. When Ma-Ma learns of his capture, she has her
henchman Caleb (Warrick Grier) seize control of the tower's security control
room and seal the building using its blast shields under the pretense of doing
a test on their security system. Trapped inside the tower, Dredd and Anderson
must now battle against Ma-Ma's army of thugs and bring her to justice if they
are to escape.
I think it goes without saying that "Dredd 3D" is a massive improvement over the laughable
Stallone version. Part of the reason that the film works so well lies in its simplicity.
After a short narration from Dredd that provides just enough background information
on the world he lives in, the plot immediately segues into the character
dispensing violent justice in the streets of Mega-City One. It's not long
before he and his protégé Anderson find themselves trapped inside a 200-story
tower in the Peach Trees housing block, forcing them into a desperate battle
for their lives in order to escape. It bears a passing resemblance to last
year's Indonesian action film "The Raid: Redemption" (although this
one was completed way before director Gareth Evans began production on his) and
even "Attack the Block" but "Dredd 3D" avoids being a carbon
copy by using its limited setting to emphasize the brutality that exists in
this dystopian vision of the future. Writer Alex Garland chooses to avoid
fleshing out Dredd, allowing his actions to speak for themselves in lieu of traditional
character development and depicting him as a relentless force of nature. The interactions
between him and rookie Anderson and the situation they find themselves in
provide further insight into their respective personalities. There are some
hints of Dredd hiding something
behind his gruff exterior but he remains an enigma, as it should be. Anderson
functions as an effective audience stand-in and Garland often uses her as a way
to ease viewers who may not be familiar with the source material rather than
blunt the action with awkward exposition.
Compared to similar genre fare like
the recent "Resident Evil Retribution," the action in "Dredd
3D" is low-key and relies on practical effects over CG. Grounded in
realism despite the film taking place in the future, Dredd isn't presented as some
superman that can engage in massive shootouts and expect to survive. He uses
his environment to his advantage and rations his ammunition but even then, we
are reminded that he is mortal and can be killed. The only action scene that
approaches being over-the-top is when Ma-Ma's men uses three Gatling guns in a
futile attempt to kill the two Judges, completely destroying an entire floor in
the tower and reducing it to a pile of rubble. "Dredd 3D" is quite
violent but never in a way that approaches parody. In terms of visuals, the
scenes that stand out are the ones where various characters take a hit of
Slo-Mo, where the slowing down of time creates these beautiful images that are
both surreal and unnerving at the same time. The overall aesthetic was managed
by British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who creates a stylish yet
foreboding atmosphere within the tower. The design of the Judge's weapon also
deserves a special mention. Dubbed the 'Lawgiver' and resembling a
mini-submachine gun, the firearm has a variety of voice-activated modes such as
armor-piercing rounds or explosives. Hell, I half-expected it to make Dredd a
sandwich! While the film was shot in native 3D, the confined space in which
"Dredd 3D" takes place in doesn't allow for much depth and the added
effect only benefits the Slo-Mo scenes. Still, it's utilized in a creative and
subtle enough manner to justify the ticket surcharge.
As the titular character,
Karl Urban is simply perfect in the role. Never removing his helmet once, Urban
actually creates a rather nuanced performance, showing Dredd as harsh but never
impractical and even displaying a dry sense of humor. His gruff delivery of 'I
am the law' sends chills down your spine. The youthful Olivia Thirlby also
handles herself pretty well, her character determined to use violence when
necessary yet remains sympathetic to the plight of others, a trait that
impresses even the stoic Dredd. Finally, there's Lena Headey as the violent
drug kingpin Ma-Ma. With her facial scars and wild hair, Headey is a delight to
watch even though her confrontation with Dredd proves to be underwhelming.
"Dredd 3D" was released on September 21, 2012 to surprisingly
positive reviews with 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. Praising the 'bombastic violence
and impressive special effects,' critics concluded that it was 'a rare example
of a remake that actually works.' Although the film received strong reviews and
tons of online buzz during a screening at this year's San Diego Comic Con, it
ended up bombing at the box office with a measly weekend debut of $6.3 million.
The problem lies with the fact that mainstream audiences do not read comics and
are not as invested compared to so-called 'fanboys.' Strangely, people seemed
to be more interested in the generic PG-13 horror flick "House at the End
of the Street" rather than a legitimately good film. Granted, the
production budget was only an estimated $45 million so it may yet turn a modest
profit overseas, enough to warrant a sequel. "Dredd 3D" does not
reinvent the wheel but the direction, the tone, and the violence all combine to
create one highly entertaining action film.
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
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