Dredd, 2012. The perfect film.

[Richmond Clements]

Dredd is undoubtedly a pretty good film, but certainly not a great one, it's a highly entertaining (if derivitive) procedural with sci-fi trappings - good point - but also very clunky at times with some major pacing and editing issues - bad point - not to mention a pretty stiff performance from Olivia Thirlby as Anderson (the role of which would have been better suited to someone like Juno Temple), way too much profanity, and action scenes that should have been kinetic and ferocious but came across as merely serviceable.

Whilst the cinematography was uniformly gorgeous, the tone was too unrelentingly bleak, it could have used some of the source comic-book's trademark jet-black humor to balance out the grimness with some levity... and indeed with John Wagner involved in the project at every stage of it's development, there really was no reason not to allow him to give the script a once-over to inject some much-needed gallows humor more prominently into proceedings.

And lastly, it's a pity that the film didn't have either another $5m to play with or was not commissioned as a 3-D presentation in the first place (a useless gimmick at best), in either case, the vehicles would undoubtedly have been more in line with Mega-City design aesthetics and the visual effects team would have given the Mega-City expanse the full treatment they had in mind initially (freeways cutting through buildings, etc).

All told, I think Mark Kermode got it exactly right in his review; it was a very flawed film with some major issues, but was nonetheless a brave, bold, and noble stab at making a more representative Judge Dredd film adaptation... unfortunately, it'll also be the last one for a very  long time indeed, that is unless Megan Ellison is won over to the Dredd cause and cuts them a $40m cheque to make a (non-stereoscopic) sequel!

Just my humble opinion as it stands...

Mark Kermode is an idiot. His opinion about any film needs to be taken with a planet-sized grain of salt.   Sorry you don't see it for what it truly is.  I stand by everything I've said. It's a perfect film.

Umm, you know that Kermodes reviews are just his opinion? They are neither right or wrong, opinions. Just like yours.
Dredd is a great movie, but perfect? That's your opinion.

[Hap Hazzard]

Dredd is undoubtedly a pretty good film, but certainly not a great one, it's a highly entertaining (if derivitive) procedural with sci-fi trappings - good point - but also very clunky at times with some major pacing and editing issues - bad point - not to mention a pretty stiff performance from Olivia Thirlby as Anderson (the role of which would have been better suited to someone like Juno Temple), way too much profanity, and action scenes that should have been kinetic and ferocious but came across as merely serviceable.

Whilst the cinematography was uniformly gorgeous, the tone was too unrelentingly bleak, it could have used some of the source comic-book's trademark jet-black humor to balance out the grimness with some levity... and indeed with John Wagner involved in the project at every stage of it's development, there really was no reason not to allow him to give the script a once-over to inject some much-needed gallows humor more prominently into proceedings.

And lastly, it's a pity that the film didn't have either another $5m to play with or was not commissioned as a 3-D presentation in the first place (a useless gimmick at best), in either case, the vehicles would undoubtedly have been more in line with Mega-City design aesthetics and the visual effects team would have given the Mega-City expanse the full treatment they had in mind initially (freeways cutting through buildings, etc).

All told, I think Mark Kermode got it exactly right in his review; it was a very flawed film with some major issues, but was nonetheless a brave, bold, and noble stab at making a more representative Judge Dredd film adaptation... unfortunately, it'll also be the last one for a very  long time indeed, that is unless Megan Ellison is won over to the Dredd cause and cuts them a $40m cheque to make a (non-stereoscopic) sequel!

Just my humble opinion as it stands...

Mark Kermode is an idiot. His opinion about any film needs to be taken with a planet-sized grain of salt.   Sorry you don't see it for what it truly is.  I stand by everything I've said. It's a perfect film.

Umm, you know that Kermodes reviews are just his opinion? They are neither right or wrong, opinions. Just like yours.
Dredd is a great movie, but perfect? That's your opinion.

That's just your opinion that it's just my opinion. My opinion is that my opinion is fact, regardless of your opinion of my opinion. If that sounds opinionated to you, well, that again is just your opinion in my opinion. But Kermode is still an idiot. That's not opinion. That's fact. In my opinion.

[Richmond Clements]

You're obviously very clever. Have fun.

[darnmarr]

opinionz..opinionz..opinionz Always with the jokes in this crazy country,
Seriously folk Clements has a point what with everyone's experience bein' subjective 'n' that:
What's perfect anyway?
How profane is too profane? How unrelentingly bleak is too unrelentingly bleak?
Has the film got great black humour or is just black and humourless?
Should Anderson be played stiffly or... bendier?
Individual audience members decide their own answers, but one element of the much quoted above critique, this notion that the film should have been originally shot in 3d rather than retro-fitted, really shows how observant the reviewer is and how much research that they have put into their review.

[Hap Hazzard]

You're obviously very clever. Have fun.

You opened yourself up to it. My signature should say it all. Of course I know it's all subjective opinion. Mine is as stated. Kermode's reviews have virtually never jibed with my own thoughts on various movies, frankly I've often wondered where the heck he was coming from so I'm not likely to respect his views on a film I find to be exceptional to begin with.

[Hawkmumbler]

To call Kermoda an idiot just because he thinks contrary to your own opinions is a bit on the nose. The guy is a lovely chap, chated to him previously about the role of the BBFC in todays society and he's very well versed. And, unlike Roger Moore or Tookey who clearly had an axe to grind with the ethos of the movie and didn't do anything to hide it, Kermode highlighted some of the movies down points, a few of which I agree with. Dredd has become one of my all time favorite movies yet even then it is not above scrutiny. Indeed, it's imperfections just happen to make it an even better film as it is unashemed of it's blemishes and run's with them, unlike The Dark Knight Rises, for example, which ignores it's faults and develop into metaphorical blisters, creating the mess of a film we ended up with. Kermode might have been expercionate of Dredd's negatives, but at least he acknowledged tham and enjoyed the film the second time around despite this.

[Hap Hazzard]

To call Kermoda an idiot just because he thinks contrary to your own opinions is a bit on the nose. The guy is a lovely chap, chated to him previously about the role of the BBFC in todays society and he's very well versed. And, unlike Roger Moore or Tookey who clearly had an axe to grind with the ethos of the movie and didn't do anything to hide it, Kermode highlighted some of the movies down points, a few of which I agree with. Dredd has become one of my all time favorite movies yet even then it is not above scrutiny. Indeed, it's imperfections just happen to make it an even better film as it is unashemed of it's blemishes and run's with them, unlike The Dark Knight Rises, for example, which ignores it's faults and develop into metaphorical blisters, creating the mess of a film we ended up with. Kermode might have been expercionate of Dredd's negatives, but at least he acknowledged tham and enjoyed the film the second time around despite this.

Fair enough. You have a positive view of the guy. I don't know him personally so I can't comment on what a nice chap he is. All I know is his reviews are often in my view poorly argued, and I've virtually never agreed with him. Ergo I'm not gonna have the same positive view. Takes all sorts, as they say.

[radiator]

I used to think Kermode was alright, but I had to stop listening to his show as his interminable, desperately unfunny rants and celebrity impressions taking up ever more of his airtime. That and he spoils films too much in his reviews for my liking, and he occasionally seems a little lazy - as if he has already made up his mind about a film before he sees it, which I took to be the case with his review of Dredd - he didn't really seem inclined to give it the time of day. Didn't he end up later saying he thought it was much better after his listeners convinced him to give it a second look?

[sheldipez]

Dredd is undoubtedly a pretty good film, but certainly not a great one

It's obviously had a greater impact on Dredd fans but there's a some delusions of grandeur going on here. I'm not putting the movie down at all, it's a bloody good action flick and one that I can't personally think of any real criticisms for (though I find it's hard to be critical of action flicks, people get shot, things get blown up, if you're moaning in between then maybe you're watching the wrong genre of movies) but I only shake my head at any talk about being better than Blade Runner or being "one of the signature scifi films in forty years" it's way too early before we know how Dredd ends up being seen as, Blade Runner is seen as a classic but that acclaim was hardly overnight, that took years, multiple versions and a few critics doing a 180 in what they thought, so only time will tell on this either way.

Do I have to put a disclaimer on here about being MY OPINION or do I just duck ? 

[JOE SOAP]

Dredd is not a perfect film and neither is Blade Runner. They are also not very similar other than for the superficial aspects of both films featuring future city settings. Their respective status among fans are for very different reasons and saying one is better than the other is missing the point of either film. There are many films that I think are brilliant but have zero critical acclaim yet I believe they're still brilliant.

[Muon]

Dredd is not a perfect film and neither is Blade Runner. They are also not very similar other than for the superficial aspects of both films featuring future city settings. Their respective status among fans are for very different reasons and saying one is better than the other is missing the point of either film. There are many films that I think are brilliant but have zero critical acclaim yet I believe they're still brilliant.

I agree that they're basically very different, but one similarity between Dredd and Blade Runner that struck me is how downbeat they are and the way they take a more downbeat, nuanced approach to questions of good versus evil than other genre films. I think it's possibly that subtle approach that caused some people to dislike both films on first viewing.

As a teenager, although I liked Ridley Scott's visual style, I didn't have much affection for Blade Runner as a whole because Deckard was not enough of a conventional hero for me. He just seemed weak, a coward, always shooting women in the back and getting the shit beaten out of him. But I re-watched it in my 20s and appreciated it a whole lot more. Deckard's weakness not only seemed realistic but also raised questions that I'd never thought about before: about whether he himself was a replicant and all that kind of stuff. I also thought about the final moments of Rutger Hauer's character a bit more, and began to appreciate more the idea that he'd just given up, faced by his impending death. Whereas I'd just thought that last speech he makes was just cool and stylish before, I began to see it as thought-provoking, even moving.

Anyway, I think Dredd has that same downbeat approach to its villain, and I think it's almost as thought-provoking as Blade Runner in the way Mama is dispatched. I honestly feel that the death of Mama rivals that climactic scene in Blade Runner. It has the same downbeat sense of anti-climax that viewers of both films have criticized as underwhelming, but which I think are fitting and satisfying endings to both films.

That said, I agree that Dredd isn't perfect. I do think it's damn good, though, and from what I've seen from reviews by ordinary film fans on places like Amazon, it seems to have struck a chord with a lot of other people. 

[Muon]

I'm not sure I used the word "downbeat" enough in that last post so I'll make up for it here: downbeat downbeat downbeat downbeat downbeat downbeat 

[Frank]

(Kermode) didn't really seem inclined to give (Dredd) the time of day. Didn't he end up later saying he thought it was much better after his listeners convinced him to give it a second look?

Aye, but that was a sop (in a print review of the DVD) to all the outraged nerd-mail he got from listeners; he was pretty dismissive of the film on the one occasion it's come up since. For what it's worth, like Hap and radiator Kermode's opinions rarely tally with my own, but I still enjoy the show and his review of Dredd wasn't so awfully wide of the mark. It's definitely not one of the best sci-fi films of the last however many years, but that's not a criticism. As someone here (radiator?) pointed out just the other day, Dredd the film isn't sci-fi in any important sense of that term - just the same as the source material.

[radiator]

I certainly wouldn't try and claim Dredd is perfect, or an all time cinematic classic (though it's definitely one of my personal favourite films of all time for obvious reasons). I've read some valid criticisms of it on here and elsewhere, and there are certain minor things even I would change. I think I said after I'd first seen it - for most people it'll be a solid, enjoyable, 8/10 kind of film. For big fans of 2000ad, or of 80s action/John Carpenter movies (or especially all of the above), its a smash.

I do think it's in a different league to the vast majority of what pass for genre movies nowadays, most of which are utterly derivative, lazy garbage that don't even make sense on a script level.

One thing I have observed is that its a film that grows on people over time. Among my friends, many liked it ok at the time, but ended up going back to see it once or even twice again at the cinema, which hardly ever happens these days.

[mididoctors]

Its not the greatest film ever made made but it is very good. The style is the thing that is genre creating rather than just derivative. That and a excellent sound track.

oddly thou seen as authentic by DREDD fans the character and world is quite different in many regards but this just seems to work somehow.

the sci-fi aspect is really social commentary in connection with technology and was in the original comic so they got that right.

the dialogue could have been better scripted in places I think. A few opportunities missed there. The action I liked because it wasn't over the top. basically DREDD just shots everyone and throws a few off a balcony.

the violence is more about the steely calm required to unleash it than preposterous bullet time stuff. The slow-mo  death scenes are porn. deal with it.