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I pretty much agree with your assessment Hunter; the first 5 minutes of the Stallone Dredd was absolutely spot on, and I remember getting butterflies with the pass over MC-1, it was exactly as it was in the strip.  It was a shame it was such a mess from thereon in...
Re the new version, I did have my concerns (like many here) about the design of the city, vehicles, etc but I'm fairly satisfied with what I have seen in the trailer.  The shanty towns between the blocks just look like a breeding ground for criminality, and feels more real than anything in the last film.  Because the look of this sprawl is recognisable to most cinemagoers, it should also help the uninitiated relate much easier to Dredd's world. 
My only niggle was with the Hall of Justice, but other than that I think we are in for a more grounded and believable Dredd, and I have to say the action looks like it will be far more exciting than that of the Stallone mess.  Can't wait!

...Sorry, those ages or above!

Yep, I remember my Dad sneaking me in to see Total Recall when I was 15!  It has to be done!

Aren't you allowed into it anyway with a parent/guardian? Maybe sneaking in was just more fun? 

I definitely saw plenty of Rated R films as a youngster.

No, our ratings system is different over here.  U & PG are the same, people under twelve can get into certificate 12A with an adult (your equivalent of PG-13) but we then have another 2 ratings, 15 & 18.  You can only get into those films if you are those ages.

But given Dredd in his 70's, couldn't Clint still get away with it?  Right enough though, he'd probably be better suited to riding a mobility scooter rather than a Lawmaster!

I really don't think a man in his 80's is gonna run around a film set for 12 hours a day dressed in leathers on a hot South African day in service of a comic character he probably barely knows.

Sorry Joe, I sometimes forget that when I write comments others can't see that my tongue is firmly in my cheek!

I love everything about it. That is all.


Oh wait no it's not. WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. That is all.

P.S: I'm guessing it's gonna be an 18, which is good for the purposes of the film, but bad for me, what makes it worse is that I'll be 18 only a couple of months after I'll get in on DVD/Blu-ray, but (although I usually dislike 3d) I would have liked to have seen it in 3d. Ah well. LOOKS ARSOM!

You been you've not managed to convince anyone you're 18 yet??Come,come.Getting into 18 certificate films when you're under-age is a rights of passage!

Yep, I remember my Dad sneaking me in to see Total Recall when I was 15!  It has to be done!

I always wanted Clinton Eastwood as Dredd, but that's impossible now.

Looks like Urban had the same idea, it looks like he's playing Dredd as Clinton Eastwood, which for me is Perfection.

Same here...it would never happen, but Clint could still do it as the aged Chaos Day Dredd.

The guy is like 80 years old!

But given Dredd in his 70's, couldn't Clint still get away with it?  Right enough though, he'd probably be better suited to riding a mobility scooter rather than a Lawmaster!

Looks very very good...  Very excited!  Roll on September!

That's horrible.  Sorry to hear you missed out - I was looking forward to hearing what a true Dredd fan thought of the film.  At least now you won't be inundated with requests from people on the forum asking you to spill the beans!

Won't be let say on here, Michael. You know that story! Haha! I've been understandably asked not to post any reviews. Fuck knows how I'm supposed to post here and not mention it knowing you're all gumming at the bit but I understand why they're asking so I will respect the request.

Mind you, if there's an earthquake in Los Angeles tonight, that means I liked it...

Aren't you allowed to even say if you liked it (without telling us any details)?  Or even if you agreed with John Wagner's views on the film?

Oh dude, I'm fucking dying here. Three hours from now, I'll be slurping down some popcorn and Sprite in me seat. That animated gif slayed me more than the teaser...

Oh for your problems Blackmocco!  I'm so jealous!  Too late to fly over to L.A. from Glasgow?  Yes.

Very excited but trying to keep calm!  Don't want my expectations to rise too high off the back of 10 seconds of footage!  Roll on the full trailer tomorrow!  Actually forget that, to hell with the summer, roll on the 7th September!

I never saw TRON in 3D, only 2D. Prometheus was barely 3D, don't know why they bothered.

I thought the 3D was the best thing about Prometheus.  It made it more of an immersive experience.  Shame the script had so many flaws.  But I was glad there wasn't much of the gimmicky things jumping at your face nonsense.

Ignoring the gnorks / norks controversy for a moment...
Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier post!
I've just finished reading the first four volumes of Slaine and thought I'd share my general thoughts to anyone who is interested...

Warriors Dawn: I thought this book was pretty good but wasn't blown away by it, mostly because it comprises of a lot of short stories rather than one long tale.  It was interesting to learn the character's full background and see how he developed.  At the risk of being completely lambasted I have to say that Mike McMahon's art just doesn't do it for me.  The level of detail in his art is very impressive - particularly in Sky Chariots - but I've just never taken to his style (think this goes back to Dredd for me when his work often alternated with Brian Bolland's... I loved the crispness of Bolland's work and found myself often frustrated by the more chaotic style that Mike employs).  I preferred Massimo Belardinelli's episodes and have to say that it was a real shame that Angie Kincaid never drew more than the first episode, her art was very impressive indeed.

Time Killer: The first story Dragonheist is a decent read though nothing amazing.  The story isn't that gripping but is notable in that it introduces Nest and explains how Slaine acquired the Knucker.  Belardinelli's art for this story is excellent and packed full of detail.  I particularly enjoyed his illustrations of the dragons!  Then its into the Time Killer tale, which (along with Tomb of Terror in the next book) represents for me the very best Slaine tales to date. Time Killer sees Slaine in a much bigger universe than previously thought and the story constantly bombards the reader with new creatures and ideas while at the same time packing each episode with non-stop frenetic action - and very funny dialogue between Slaine and Ukko.  Glenn Fabry's work here is outstanding and beautiful to look at. Fellow artist David Pugh's episodes aren't quite as well illustrated (sometimes I think there's something not quite right about the characters' faces) but in fairness his output seems to be double that of Fabry's and it is still of a very high standard.

Slaine the King: This continues directly on from Time Killer with Tomb of Terror and I was delighted to find that with the same team that worked on Time Killer, the quality is just as high in this tale as the previous one.  My only gripe is that I felt the conclusion of Tomb of Terror was a little rushed and could have benefited by being a few pages longer.  Following that classic tale is the somewhat disappointing Spoils of Annwn where Slaine goes through several trials of the zodiac.  I felt that Mills delighted in showing off his research into mythology at the expense of a compelling narrative and while there is nothing really bad about art by Collins and Farmer, there is nothing really great about it either.  I was relieved when I came to the end of that story, as I felt getting through this turgid tale was a greater trial than any that Slaine encountered.  The quality improves again as we finally then move into the Slaine the King stories which I enjoyed as I finally got to see Slaine's home.  It wasn't anywhere near as good as Time Killer and Tomb of Terror - mostly because it really serves to set the scene for the Horned God - but Fabry's welcome return showcases what is his best work on the series to date.  Simply sublime, it's just beautiful to look at.

The Horned God: Like Dark Jimbo I was a little disappointed by this story after hearing so much about it.  It's annoying at the start as it recaps on the whole story to date and from there on the story in Books 1 & 2 is a bit slow and the threats to the heroes seem a little too easily overcome.  Book 3 on the other hand is full out war but given the catastrophic events that unfold, it's strange that there doesn't seem to be much sense of loss or feeling.  I think my biggest problem with The Horned God is that the character of Slaine seems to have completely changed.  While this transformation provides us with a more three dimensional character, it just isn't as much fun.  I felt that a cretinous character in Book 3 left a bad taste in the mouth as it was an obvious case of Mills wilfully insulting some readers; "Yurr! I don't like the comp...comp...complicated bits.  I only like it when he's killing people".  For me, Slaine is at it's best when both the ideas and action come thick and fast, which is why I loved Time Killer so much.
As for Simon Bisley's art, I am a fan, but...  Some of the artwork is absolutely wonderful but frustratingly the quality is inconsistent (which I also found to be the case with his work on the ABC Warriors Black Hole story).  Why Bisley illustrates some of the characters pulling bizarre faces is beyond me because it just looks daft.  I also wish he'd draw some backgrounds!   That said though, I'd like to reiterate that some of the stuff is just gorgeous.  I particularly like the 1st panel that lets us see Ukko as an old dwarf and Slaine with the dog is just fantastic. 

Anyway, to anyone who's still with me, thanks for reading all of my rambling thoughts on the books!  I look forward to reading any responses to my reviews!

I'm sure fans would be more than happy to do just that, but would it be ethical to essentially get them to supply effects for free?...

If they wanted to then yes. 

Wouldn't the filmmakers then be open to negative publicity?  Headlines along the lines of; "No justice in Dredd's slave-labour special effects team"...

Also agree with Joe's comment.  Might be interesting as well to watch MC-1's technology and landscape grow and develop over the course of a trilogy (fingers crossed)!

I couldn't care less if they had negative publicity about slave labour and I don't think most other fans would too.   All I care about is whether the finished film looks really good and it doesn't have negative publicity for looking cheap.   That'll be far worse.

If I was DNA I'd get some talented fans who can do good cgi fast to spruce it up.   If I could do it I'd offer my services for free.   Unfortunately I've never done cgi though.   

Like you, I'm a Dredd fan and I couldn't care less about what publicity surrounds the film.  I'm going to see it no matter what is said.  But all I'm worried about is that negative publicity could put off some non-Dredd filmgoers who may have gone to see it...  I just want the film to be a commercial success so more films can be made.

Was wondering what Slaine fans thought of the later books?  I've just bought the first five books (up to and including Demon Killer) but I've just read a few things online saying that Slaine should have ended after the Horned God (which I'm reading tomorrow for the first time)!  Does anyone agree/disagree with that opinion? 

Also, I'm not clear about the seqence of the books to buy - I noticed that the Books of Invasion and Slaine the Wanderer are in Hardback.  I'm a bit of a freak about these things and would prefer to just buy the paperbacks so they all match nicely on my shelf!  Does that mean I only have Lord of Misrule, Treasures of Britain and the first paperback edition of Books of Invasion to complete the paperbacks released to date?