Dredd (2012)

Steve Green · 15 February, 2012, 03:51:31 PM

He's also a villain that hasn't been done in the Stallone film.

I don't think the possession aspect is too much of a leap, no more than a psychic is.

radiator · 15 February, 2012, 03:55:21 PM

Apparently Death was due to appear in the proposed sequel to the Stallone film, which again I find weird. It would have jarred, tonally, for me to introduce that sort of thing when there's nothing remotely like that in the original.

Misanthrope · 15 February, 2012, 04:01:37 PM

Quotewhen there's nothing remotely like that in the original.

I dunno, that codpiece was pretty scary.

M.I.K. · 15 February, 2012, 04:31:07 PM

Supernatural elements can, (if you know what you're doing), work better against a realistic backdrop and film-makers usually completely mess things up when they attempt to rationalize or play down the more outlandish elements of a story when adapting it.

Making him a creature from another dimension "where the laws of physics are different to our own" or somesuch would be good enough for me. You could also then have Dredd being all in-charactery sceptical/skeptical about Anderson's completely mental sounding 'ghosts turning people into zombie' visions 'til he sees it for himself.

Pterodactyl is a bit much, but that could easily be dealt with by toning it down into a design on a shoulder pad much like film Dredd's.

Danbo · 15 February, 2012, 04:50:19 PM

Death would work better in a cartoon spinoff ,It would be a huge gamble.They would have to commit 100% and not wimp out,play it straight,dark,full on horror with the dimension hopping.
I just think Death would look a bit daft done live

The terror angle would work better.

Midnight Surfer and Total War or America mixture would be cool.
Chopper as the face of freedom with Dredd as his polar opposite and Total War going nuts in the middle causing all sorts of shit to the back drop of Supersurf 7.

Spaceghost · 15 February, 2012, 04:58:28 PM

I'm still holding out for a sequel featuring Karl Heinz Pilchards-in-Tomato-Sauce Clayderman.

bigjobs67 · 15 February, 2012, 05:05:02 PM

Thinkin the inclusion of Anderson in the film is possibly to give a sequel a way to do a plausible introduction to Death?
Hopefully a sequel with a bigger budget would allow a 'Motion Capture' Death as proposed earlier.
That would be a great way to do Death IMO.
Maybe in a Ridley Scott 'Alien-esq' way.
Can just imagine those 'Tomb Stone' teeth being revealed as his his lips peel back into that terrifying rictus grin

darnmarr · 15 February, 2012, 05:18:40 PM

Just on the notion of America ever being filmed:

The problem with 'America' as a film is that, although it is one of the more mature stories, it is bound completely to the strengths of the medium of comics. The ambiguity (of the gender) of the narrative voice, ( which in the comic is read rather than heard) is key to the story's success. The 'reveal' is dependent upon that voice speaking to an audience in a way that is neutral: neither male nor female nor freakily in between. Despite it's maturity, I reckon that 'America', of all the Dredd stories, is the one that would transfer least well... it's also practically a musical!

radiator · 15 February, 2012, 05:20:32 PM

QuoteThey would have to commit 100% and not wimp out,play it straight,dark,full on horror with the dimension hopping.

I don't agree. Look at Ras Al Ghul in the Batman comics vs Batman Begins. In the comics he's very camp-looking and immortal - in the film a suave and effective villain, and is done without a hint of the supernatural.

Shows that a character can very successfully be toned down to suit a grittier, more realistic tone.

CYCLOPZ · 15 February, 2012, 05:22:07 PM

Whenever Judge Death and the more unusual elements of the Dredd universe are brought up we get the "It'll never work" comments. The truth is depending on the version of reality that's established in the first movie at this point its all up for grabs. [spoiler]By the way Anderson being a Psychic can in the script to my recollection enter anyone's mind and create any random visualisation. Which opens up the possibility that[/spoiler] if Judge Death is in the sequel represented as a character like Judge Cal as was suggested earlier, The Judge death that we all know will only exist in the minds of his victims. A possibility but I think maybe too close to Batman Begins and the scarecrow.

Like it or not Judge Death very probably going to be the subject of the sequel. I remember hearing in the early 2000s that rebellion were planning two Dredd movies and Death was always going to be in the sequel.

radiator · 15 February, 2012, 05:23:45 PM

QuoteJust on the notion of America ever being filmed:

The problem with 'America' as a film is that, although it is one of the more mature stories, it is bound completely to the strengths of the medium of comics. The ambiguity (of the gender) of the narrative voice, ( which in the comic is read rather than heard) is key to the story's success. The 'reveal' is dependent upon that voice speaking to an audience in a way that is neutral: neither male nor female nor freakily in between. Despite it's maturity, I reckon that 'America', of all the Dredd stories, is the one that would transfer least well... it's also practically a musical!

You're assuming that they would be filming an incredibly literal adaptation of America, which wouldn't happen for multiple reasons - the most obvious being that Dredd is hardly in it!

There's nothing to stop them loosely basing a film around it, or lifting elements from the story.

darnmarr · 15 February, 2012, 05:26:32 PM

Indeed. But the strength of that particular story, for me, has always been in the way it was told.

CYCLOPZ · 15 February, 2012, 05:27:04 PM

Quote from: radiator on 15 February, 2012, 05:23:45 PM
QuoteJust on the notion of America ever being filmed:

The problem with 'America' as a film is that, although it is one of the more mature stories, it is bound completely to the strengths of the medium of comics. The ambiguity (of the gender) of the narrative voice, ( which in the comic is read rather than heard) is key to the story's success. The 'reveal' is dependent upon that voice speaking to an audience in a way that is neutral: neither male nor female nor freakily in between. Despite it's maturity, I reckon that 'America', of all the Dredd stories, is the one that would transfer least well... it's also practically a musical!

You're assuming that they would be filming an incredibly literal adaptation of America, which wouldn't happen for multiple reasons - the most obvious being that Dredd is hardly in it!

There's nothing to stop them loosely basing a film around it, or lifting elements from the story.

Total war would work much Better in a franchise because its more action based but has similar subject matter.

Kowalsky (formerly JudgeGumpty) · 15 February, 2012, 05:31:19 PM

Quote from: Lee Bates on 15 February, 2012, 04:58:28 PM
I'm still holding out for a sequel featuring Karl Heinz Pilchards-in-Tomato-Sauce Clayderman.

LMAO!! and what a sequel that would make!

IAMTHESYSTEM · 15 February, 2012, 05:35:59 PM

I think Judge Death's Dimension jumping brings too much futuristic tech into a parred down DREDD world. Maybe if they had him as the ultimate Judge, built by Justice dept to be an almost invulnerable street Judge before they perfected the cloning technique that brought more stable clones like Judge Dredd.

After all Judge Death's dark justice is merely Judge Dredd's Law brought to it's logical conclusion.

Someone like Judge Orlok or a Criminal Syndicate of Mega Cities organized crime gangs might be more appropriate. But let's see how the first Movie does before we start writing the sequels.