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What do you want/not want from the Dredd sequel(s)?

Started by ChickenStu, 25 June, 2013, 11:27:30 PM

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radiator

I think Death could work in the tone they've established, so long as they play him totally straight - vicious, scary. They could go in a few different directions with it - they don't necessarily have to go with the 'alien superfiend from another dimension' angle - ideas suggested on this board have included reimagining him as a mutant or warlord from the Cursed Earth, a rogue Psi judge or a corrupt, genocidal Chief Judge in the vein of Cal... And I'll pre-empt the usual "it has to be exactly like it is in the comics or why bother?" brigade by saying the Dark Judges' backstory has always been weak in the comics and almost anything else would be an improvement.

I know it's not a popular bit of the film but I like what they did with Pinbacker in the film Sunshine. Something similar to that could work - quite trippy, with some sort of interesting visual effect. It could have been very cool indeed.

And Judge Death makes infinitely more sense to do as a film than The Apocalypse War, which is entirely unsuitable for a multitude of reasons.

radiator

Quoteideas suggested on this board have included reimagining him as a mutant or warlord from the Cursed Earth, a rogue Psi judge or a corrupt, genocidal Chief Judge in the vein of Cal...

Or of course do a Joker, and just flat out refuse to explain who he is or where he came from, and just have characters in the film speculating.

ChickenStu

Quote from: radiator on 26 June, 2013, 12:32:06 PMOr of course do a Joker, and just flat out refuse to explain who he is or where he came from, and just have characters in the film speculating.

Hmmm. You know, that could probably work!
Ma Ma's not the law... (you know the rest)

JOE SOAP

Quote from: radiator on 26 June, 2013, 09:01:04 AM
I've said it before, but a hypothetical sequel should open in a very similar way to the first film, but with Chopper giving the voiceover instead of Dredd.

We get a montage of Chopper suiting up to go out on a tagging run, readying his powerboard etc interspersed with a montage of judges attacking protestors and using excessive force, playing over it is a reworked 'Mega City One' theme, and Chopper's v/o mirrors Dredd's in the first film, but tells up the flipside of the Judicial system, setting the scene for a tale about the death of democracy and the history of Justice Department.


That's a great visual idea; the only problem I can see from the perspective of his character is that it might give the impression that Chopper is an overtly political figure rather than the individualist urban folk-hero looking to make his mark, rise above the humdrum and be 'somebody'. Chopper would be doing the same if he was in a democracy. He's the outsider looking to beat the system, any system. The Bennet Beeny/America Jara combo or Blondel Dupre are more the cyphers of the opposing force representing the city's history, and the struggle.




JOE SOAP

Quote from: ChickenStu on 26 June, 2013, 01:29:43 PM
Quote from: radiator on 26 June, 2013, 12:32:06 PMOr of course do a Joker, and just flat out refuse to explain who he is or where he came from, and just have characters in the film speculating.

Hmmm. You know, that could probably work!


It might work for one character but introduce three more outlandish superfiends and it begins to collapse under the weight of its own suspension of disbelief. John Carpenter worked an explanation of eternal evil via quantum physics in Prince of Darkness and managed to keep a straight-face. Would it be that much harder for DREDD?


radiator

Totally depends. Agree that would only work with Death - more problematic if there were four of them, unless the other three were just his human lackeys or something.

The other way the Dark Judges could work in a more realistic manner would be similar to how Scarecrow was portrayed in Batman Begins - they intimidate their victims with a derivative of the 'Slo-mo' drug.

Again, Alex did hint at how he would tackle the character and seemed to imply that he would perhaps begin as a normal judge, but his appearance would become more and more warped as the film went on, which would have been interesting to see.

Regarding the Chopper thing, again it depends on how they chose to portray the character - I assumed from how Alex described it that Chopper would have been a key figure to the pro-democracy storyline. Or he could just be a cameo role - a minor criminal and voice of the oppressed citizens who could bookend the film. Either way, it would have been interesting to open up the ambiguity of the judicial system we got a glimpse of in film 1 and turn Dredd's monologue about how the judges were 'the only thing fighting for order in the chaos' on it's head. Tip the audience off from the word go that this wasn't just going to be more of the same.

Michaelvk

You have never felt pain until you've trodden barefoot on an upturned lego brick..

Goaty


JOE SOAP

Quote from: radiator on 26 June, 2013, 01:58:49 PM
Regarding the Chopper thing, again it depends on how they chose to portray the character - I assumed from how Alex described it that Chopper would have been a key figure to the pro-democracy storyline. Or he could just be a cameo role - a minor criminal and voice of the oppressed citizens who could bookend the film. Either way, it would have been interesting to open up the ambiguity of the judicial system we got a glimpse of in film 1 and turn Dredd's monologue about how the judges were 'the only thing fighting for order in the chaos' on it's head. Tip the audience off from the word go that this wasn't just going to be more of the same.



The Beeny/Jara & Dredd monolgues in America pretty much represent that interplay and could be adapted in a similar way, as could the kid's questioning missive in A letter to Judge Dredd which would also be an interesting option to open a film about a state-enforcer.

One of the great things about DREDD is that they stayed faithful to the characters and what they represent. Chopper and the Total War movement all stand for specific things that could be included without a change of character; they are all subversive in different ways and could be featured in a film employing that thematic. If there all ready exists a set of characters who serve a certain purpose, there's no real need to use Chopper for another. The most interesting thing about Chopper is his indifference and that he's no one's fool but his own. He's the epitome of an important aspect of Meg-life because he manages to escape it for a while.


M.I.K.

I'd like to see a sequel that completely disregards anything anyone on here has to say about anything unless it seems like a good idea to whomever happens to write the script for it.


And undead supernatural alien beasties from another dimension that kill people a lot. It needs some of those.

Beadle68

I've said this somewhere before but I thought Judge Lex could have survived  from the first film horrifically disfigured as half his face was blown away and his mind warped into a hatred of all things living due to said incident goes on a killing spree in mega city one gaining the name Judge Death,this being a more realistic approach to the character. Thought Langley Kirkwood was an excellent evil character well acted should have had more screen time.

Michaelvk

You have never felt pain until you've trodden barefoot on an upturned lego brick..

Steve Green

Resyk. From the figurative meat-grinder mentioned by Lex to an actual one.

I don't think it was ever done in the comic, but I thought Death corrupting the judges Necropolis-style and having them marching the citizens en-masse at gunpoint straight to Resyk would be pretty horrific.

ChickenStu

Quote from: Steve Green on 26 June, 2013, 07:53:20 PMI don't think it was ever done in the comic, but I thought Death corrupting the judges Necropolis-style and having them marching the citizens en-masse at gunpoint straight to Resyk would be pretty horrific.

Oh dude, no way! They'd never get that past the ratings board!  :o
Ma Ma's not the law... (you know the rest)

blackmocco

Well, we've had plenty of time to think about it and weirdly enough, I don't think I care for a 'bigger' sequel. I'd be fine with just another day on the job with Dredd. If it ain't broke, why fix it?

I quite liked Doug Jones' idea with a TV crew following Dredd around. No better way to explain the city and the things that go on in it. Plenty of opportunity to present life in the Big Meg.

Just don't feel like we got enough of a sense of the city in the first one to start venturing out into the Cursed Earth yet and Death in this version of Dredd would be like introducing Bat-Mite into Nolan's Batverse.

But let's see Hershey and Giant in this one.
"...and it was here in this blighted place, he learned to live again."

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