"Dreddful" In a Good Way

When I heard there was a new Judge Dredd movie out I panicked, fearing it was going to be another goofy romp like 1995's Judge Dredd. Flashbacks of Rob Schneider filled stupidity and Sylvester Stallone screaming "LAAAAAWW!" invaded my mind when I found Dredd on Netflix, but I had to check it out anyway. Thankfully, director Pete Travis' Dredd steers in the opposite direction of its '90's counterpart to deliver an adrenaline fueled, ultra-violent action movie that also knows how to use its brain.

Based on the British comic series Judge Dredd, Dredd is set in the futuristic dystopia of Mega City One. A large urban sprawl spreading from Boston to Washington DC, the city is plagued with a never ending crime rate. Keeping order in the chaos are the Judges- a military style police force with the powers of judge, jury, and on site executioner. The story follows the eponymous Judge Dredd as he trains rookie Cassandra Anderson, who initially failed her aptitude test but was reconsidered because of her psychic abilities.

Anderson is plunged right into the deep end as she and Dredd are called in to investigate the slummy, 200 story Peach Trees apartment block. The entire block is under control by drug lord Madeline Mardigal (aka Ma Ma) who controls the production and distribution of the highly addictive Slow Mo, a drug that makes time go at 1% its normal speed. Not about to give up on her empire, Ma Ma puts the block on lock down and sends wave upon wave of thugs to try and wipe out the two Judges. The key word here is try. 

This movie works on so many levels. First of all are the great performances from the lead actors. Karl Urban's Dredd channels an equal amount of Dirty Harry and Boba Fett to create one super bad ass force to be reckoned with, fueled by an unrelenting sense of justice. While he isn't invincible, Dredd stops at nothing to ensure that Ma Ma receives her death sentence. Not once in the movie does he ever remove his helmet, and the only sign of emotion we see from him is his constant frown.

Meanwhile, Olivia Thirlby's performance as Anderson shows a kind of vulnerability and sensitivity that we don't see in Dredd. The two contrasting personalities create a unique atmosphere on screen, with Dredd's black and white sense of morality directly clashing against Anderson's grey. Even her method of dispensing justice differs from Dredd's- while he usually goes right for his gun, Anderson tries to reason or use her psychic powers whenever possible. Anderson also has a deep character arc in the movie, going from a nervous rookie to a battle hardened, fully fledged Judge.

The action sequences in this movie are some of the most intense I've seen in a while. There are many memorable moments, such as the opening high speed chase scene,a fiery shootout between Dredd and some perps, and a jaw dropping scene with 3 mini-guns. A preference for practical effects with minimal CGI helps ground the action in reality, while the pulsating beat of the industrial soundtrack emphasizes it.

One thing I especially liked about the movie was it was mainly set in one location. By taking place primarily in the Peach Trees apartment block, the movie is able to have a plot that is simplistic yet heart pumping. This also makes it so the movie very rarely, if ever, strays away from the plot.

While all of these elements work so well for the movie, Dredd does have a few flaws keeping it from being perfect. For instance, there are some scenes that were shot to simulate the effects of Slow Mo. In these scenes, the action slows way down and all the colors become hyper saturated. To me, these scenes took away from the action at hand and eliminated some of the grittiness of the atmosphere. The exception to this is one scene where Dredd and Anderson take on a room full of Slow Mo junkies.

My only other complaint about the movie is that Ma Ma felt pretty undeveloped. This works for Dredd's character because he is balanced by Anderson-but with nothing to balance off of and with a minimal back story, Ma Ma just feels like a generic villain.

All things considered, Dredd is a great film. By balancing brutal violence with deep characterization and seeping it in reality, Dredd goes above and beyond what the typical action movie sets out to do. My verdict is a 9 out of 10.