DREDD reviews. (SPOILERS!)

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Pete whispered to me that he would have paid that vagrant to do what was on his sign

[Steven Sterlacchini]

Amazing stuff.

Like everyone else in the cinema and nearly everyone on the screen, I was blown away

I was so busy watching Karl as Dredd that I missed many of the references, so I'll be off to see it again ASAP!

The one I did see, which was beautifully placed, was the jacket with DROKK written on the back, just before everyone starts using real expletives. It was almost saying, yes we know it's Drokk in the comic, but this is going to be hardcore reality.

Karl Urban impresses throughout. His Dredd is tough, but still realistic. He's not a superhuman character who bullets either bounce off of or miraculously miss. He doesn't produce unbelievable acts of strength or ridiculous marksmanship. It feels like someone with the right training could do what Dredd does in real life.

Also the way he picks up on the corrupt Judge is excellent. One mistaken word, like a barrister in a trial, Dredd is on it and understands what it means. Alex Garland's writing talent shows through.

Off the spread the world ABC Warrior style.

[Spaceghost]

Like PJ, i hate you all.

No i dont- im insanely jealous of you all for having that experience.
SBT

You know what? It sounds cheesy but I really wish the whole board could have gone to this. There was such a great atmosphere and a sense of camaraderie. We were all finally amongst people who understood. It was so lovely meeting everyone and sharing this exciting experience.

Everyone was so cool and it was great to meet Judge Fett, Bat King, Radiator, Joe Soap, SuperSurfer (sorry you didn't get in), Large 48, DarnMarr, Sherman Kid, Richmond, Bolt01 and loads more.

It would have been great to meet all the rest of you as well. I realise I'm all loved up, drunk on the heady, surreal experience and possibly talking bollocks but everyone who was there last night feels like a brother to me. I feel so lucky to be a part of all this and so grateful to Molch-R and everyone else for making it happen.

And I'm so glad we've still got 2000 AD after all these years and that we, the fans, are cared about to this extent.

Long live Tharg!

[blackmocco]

Like PJ, i hate you all.

No i dont- im insanely jealous of you all for having that experience.
SBT

You know what? It sounds cheesy but I really wish the whole board could have gone to this. There was such a great atmosphere and a sense of camaraderie. We were all finally amongst people who understood. It was so lovely meeting everyone and sharing this exciting experience.

Everyone was so cool and it was great to meet Judge Fett, Bat King, Radiator, Joe Soap, SuperSurfer (sorry you didn't get in), Large 48, DarnMarr, Sherman Kid, Richmond, Bolt01 and loads more.

It would have been great to meet all the rest of you as well. I realise I'm all loved up, drunk on the heady, surreal experience and possibly talking bollocks but everyone who was there last night feels like a brother to me. I feel so lucky to be a part of all this and so grateful to Molch-R and everyone else for making it happen.

And I'm so glad we've still got 2000 AD after all these years and that we, the fans, are cared about to this extent.

Long live Tharg!

This. Loved seeing it at San Diego but the audience was mostly press with a few die-hard Dredd fans in the middle. Would have been fucking fantastic seeing it with everyone...

[Kudos]

I'm not reading anything that you guys are saying in here. Don't want any spoilers.

I just wanted to say that from my twitter feed last night it looks like everyone who went had an amazing time and I'm glad it went so well and this seemed like the thread to say this. It's fantastic that the 2000AD people set this up for you guys and to get Wagner, Ezquerra, Urban and Garland to be there too. It's a really nice gesture for the fans, it shows that we matter and I'm really impressed that it was done.

Now, I'm just regretting that I'm more of a lurker on here than an active poster. With more posts maybe I could have been there too man...

Still. It's only a week till the rest of us get to see it...

[Gavin_Leahy_Block]

Very well said, Lee.

[radiator]

The bit where Dredd says "shit!" really made me laugh for some reason. Wasn't expecting it at all.

[CYCLOPZ]

Translate that to Stomm.

[Steven Sterlacchini]

The bit where Dredd says "shit!" really made me laugh for some reason. Wasn't expecting it at all.

I know it sounds out of character for Dredd, but considering what happens next, I think it works okay 

It's like when Data says 'shit' in Star Trek Generations, just before the Enterprise crashes into a planet.

[Goaty]

Forgive me, but when Dredd says "Shit"? Was that big fucking weapens by Ma-Ma?

[MattJW]

The bit where Dredd says "shit!" really made me laugh for some reason. Wasn't expecting it at all.

A man in his position using abusive language!

He should book himself in for a few days in the cubes for that - surely!

[Richmond Clements]

Forgive me, but when Dredd says "Shit"? Was that big fucking weapens by Ma-Ma?

Yup.

[Goaty]

Forgive me, but when Dredd says "Shit"? Was that big fucking weapens by Ma-Ma?

Yup.

Awesome!

[radiator]

I hope my brief write up yesterday didn't come across as negative - I was really trying to be as objective as possible, as if id come to the film cold, and highlight certain potential problem areas. I know Alex is probably reading this so didn't want him to get the wrong impression. Plus I've had a bit of time for it to sink in now.

It should go without saying, but I thought it was an excellent Dredd film (there was never much doubt in my mind that it would be seeing the talent involved). I always said that as far as im concerned they could diverge from the comics quite a bit, so long as they got Dredd himself right, but i was surprised and delighted to see just how faithful an adaptation it is - more than a first glance would suggest. So many great little touches and details that I keep remembering (like a glimpse of the West Wall, and a reference to Resyk for example).

I was initially a bit skeptical about the decision to keep the helmet on throughout (I was thinking about how poorly it worked in things like Spiderman and V for Vendetta), but it's a total non-issue. As in the comics, the visor IS Dredd's face. Could have been disastrous with the wrong actor, but Urban smashes it. A truly great performance.

As for my comments about the grungy look of the film, I think that comes down to the heavily 'digital' feel vs a more traditional cinematic celluloid look. It's probably not what some people are/were quite expecting. I wasn't for a second criticising anything to do with the craftsmanship; the locations, the cgi, the props, the costuming, cinematography, all of which is great.

Speaking as a fan, my only real criticism is that it's so contained - I feel as I've just seen the first act in something bigger and I desperately hope it does well enough to earn a sequel. If there's any justice it will, but in a world of Michael Bays and Len Wisemans...

Keep re-watching the clips online and listening to the soundtrack - cant wait to see it again, but couldn't have asked for a better way to watch it for the first time.

I'm still reeling.

[The Sherman Kid]

Spent an extra day in London so just got back.Well, where to start.

Firstly a big thank you to 2000AD and Molcher for the invite very gratefully received.Great to see the other board members Judge Fett, Danmarr ,Shoalin Monkey, Joe Soap, Radiator, Bolt, Steve Green, Goaty, Minty, Tony (aka Roscach was it?), Commando Forces, Bolt ,WOD, Bat King, Pete Wells, Richard Clements, Nicklambo, Logan and everyone else.

JOHN WAGNER - A very modest man who I was very surprised and delighted to meet.My abilty to form coherent sentences suddenly left me though, I genuinely now know what starstruck means, love the guy to bits.Hope to meet him again some day.

CARLOS EZQUERRA- Again, another big surprise.Glad to see him looking so well with his lovely wife.Seemed very poignant to see the two 'masters', chatting together later on...

ALEX GARLAND- What a wonderful man.Extremely affable and approachable, a keen listener , very attentive and always gave straight answers. Very impressed by him and I personally thought took a lot of guts  to meet direct with the fans both before and after the film so Kudos

KARL URBAN-Had a photo with him, but sadly no opportunity to chat.Immaculately dressed and very polite.Having already seen dozen or so interviews he's done, his passion for the film and character are obvious.An absolute professional in every sense.

THE FILM

Karl Urban IS Dredd, it's as simple and great as that.

For that reason alone the film will be a big hit with the fans (let alone the umpteen easter eggs that have so thoughtfully also been included).Karl has completely nailed the part which was just AWESOME (the Dredd that WE know has finally reached the big screen).Olivia Thirlby was another perfect choice (Debbie Harry now being a tad too old as Alex joked), and captured the vunerability of an early version of Anderson.

The action is pretty much relentless and dotted with plenty of one-liners that would have made Clint Eastwood himself proud.'Drug bust' ,'why'and 'yeah' were my favourites.The 3D is entirely approprite for this film to not only produce some stunning images but to also capture violence in a way I've not quite seen before.Unlike the matrix 'bullet time' this shows graphically ,for example, the effect of a blast or a bullet on the human body, the real impact of Dredd at work.

The overall level of 'gore' was surprisingly less than what I thought it would be, given the certificate,but not in a bad way.

The way the Judges were protrayed was excellent.'Death on legs' would be how I describe them, quick efficient badasses.The razor sharp super-efficient dialogue between them was spot on.This applied to Dredd too.I saw Karl in an interview describe how he kept wanted to reduce Dredds lines (which when you think about it is unheard of for actors to make such requests), but was absolutely right for Dredd.Again Kudos to Karl.

The city does come across as a proto-Mega City One which can be developed more for the future (hopefully this will be the Batman Begins for Dredd).

Quibbles, yes the vehicles and parts of the set design.Whilst being a dystopian future some more future tech and design work would have been good but of course the budgetary constraints were a big factor.

Overall Alex should be very proud and the fans very pleased.

I will now being seeing this film until my bank manager tells me to stop, dragging my girlfriend along until she threatens to leave me and coralling my friends to see it  until they threaten to desert me.