DREDD reviews. (SPOILERS!)

[Dandontdare]

I also think there could have been a smidge more story complexity and maybe an effort to tie things together a little more cleverly.

I can see your other points, but this is the one I agree with. I may have liked more drokks than fucks, but the level of profanity seemed right for the movie. Were there any stomms, gruds or any other stuff at all? I didn't notice any.

[HdE]

I have to say - the profanity thing doesn't feel like the sort of problem I'm going to be complaining about by the time I get my mitts on the DVD.

It's easy to rationalise the things I had difficulty with in a 'well, this is what Dredd's like on screen' sort of way. A bit like 'Marvel movie Nick Fury is Samuel L. Jackson. Deal with it!'

[darnmarr]

Hmm.. I'm not sure the two girls speak to each other at any point in the film - about a man or anything else.

But, two girls in strong starring roles? Yeah I think girls and guys will like this film equally as much.

I know the cheif judge tells her to shut up: but she is talking about Dredd at that point, and Dredd is,I guess 'a man' - I cant remember any other instance: she talks to the perp's wife (who she shot) and she is named 'cathy'.. I think... anyway the crux of my question was: a gent's film for chaps, or a film with universal appeal?... and I think you've answered it. BUT, for me, Ma-Ma was a victim too and so it did seem a  trifle vindictive of Dredd to, not only kill her, but prolong the agony of her death... I mean she was clearly scarred in every sense.

[HdE]

Oh- one further point I forgot to mention:

The soundtrack! Oh, my... it was great!

[JOE SOAP]

(the only off note for me was the 'hotshot' which felt like a throwback to 'double whammy' - so much so, that when dredd says 'two way split' later in the movie, I thought "Oh no! it IS a double whammy".

Hotshot was what a heatseeker was originally called in the first 30 or so progs.

[chaingunchimp]

Saw Dredd earlier; perfect Judge Dredd film, In my opinion. I want more!

[JOE SOAP]

BUT, for me, Ma-Ma was a victim too and so it did seem a  trifle vindictive of Dredd to, not only kill her, but prolong the agony of her death... I mean she was clearly scarred in every sense.

For Dredd she was a Lawbreaker who skinned people and was the biggest narcotics manufacturer in the city.

[HdE]

Not to mention that it was a neat bit of justice for Ma-Ma's sadistic actions at the start of the movie.

I mean, YEAH, it may be 'movie justice'... but I had no problem with it.

[The Sherman Kid]

Interesting interview in the Telegraph Culture section with Lean Headly, worth a read.

[BPP]

Didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The bikes and the bent judges were bad moves - the first because joe public will think the lawmasters look naff (they do look very 80s) and the latter because joe public needs to get that Judges are 'men (and women) apart', yet of the nine in the movie 4 are bent. Also Dredd isn't mythologised enough at any juncture and so the 1 million dollar line doesn't really make any sense unless you know Dredd is legend. The 'waiting' bit likewise seemed odd, 'for her' would have been a nice rejoinder and also shown Anderson had let Joe know she was coming.

My main problem with it was that the slo-mo detracted from everything - i watched in 2D as I am one of those 10% who can't process 3D and so went 2D - right from the first slo-mo it was just 'ho hum, this is for the 3D crowd and is a bit dull'. The ending was thus rendered a bit plodding by the time you-know-who was passing through the steam / cloud. Not a 3D hater at all but the effect on 2D watchers is certainly more pronounced than other films I've seen. By the time it comes out on DVD the rest of you might experience this. Am sure the 3D looked great, for 2D it looked great 3D. 

Could have done with less 'fucks' and more 'drokks' but all in all it was good. Best when the action was ramped up (fave bit the stairwell shootings, you just know the ride has kicked off). Congrats to all involved and will be going back a couple of times for sure. It is still Dredd on the big screen and a pretty brilliant stab at it. The other half LOVED it.

KU and OT were great, the gunplay was great, Ma-Ma was fabulous, the sheer brutality of it was impressive, some of the lines were great, the outfits were fantastic - brilliant design work. And yeah the music was really good and nicely  mixed to create tone, especially the 'bad judges' intro.


Sadly the cinema (6.30 show, sunny day, 2D) had about 30 people in it. Will go on the cheap ticket night to the 3D see if its a bit more lively.

Thank you very much to anyone connected with the movie. My 'gripes' are in the context of a forum for people very passionate about 2000AD, I'll be bussing people in to see this movie and make sure it does box-office here.

[darnmarr]

For Dredd she was a Lawbreaker who skinned people and was the biggest narcotics manufacturer in the city.

Yes, but in this film incarnation everything felt more real, and the city really was a 'meat-grinder' and, from her mug-shot, ma-ma's days as a prostitute were innocent times in comparison to where we,the audience, not Dredd (because god-knows-what's-going-through-his-vizored-head) encountered her.

[Dandontdare]

Interesting interview in the Telegraph Culture section with Lean Headly, worth a read.

Does she say fuck a lot? cos she does in every other interview I've read. I think I like Lena Headey!

[darnmarr]

oh fuck yeah: love the bitch.

[JOE SOAP]

I disagree on the bent Judges being a bad move; I think it's the most crucial scene in the film as it shows how experienced Judges converse with each other and the 'mora'l contrast reinforces the point of what Judges are supposed to be and that Dredd represents the epitome of that - very important for the first film - and it also shows that they're corruptible. Introducing the bent Judges gave Dredd the pretext for mouthing the betray the Law, betray the city lines which are crucial to getting how much of a believer he is in the whole set-up.

I'm not into the mythologising Dredd in the eyes of the citizens, at least not yet as he's still a young Dredd, but he is certainly mythologised in the eyes of other Judges as Lex dialogue shows.

[JOE SOAP]

For Dredd she was a Lawbreaker who skinned people and was the biggest narcotics manufacturer in the city.

Yes, but in this film incarnation everything felt more real, and the city really was a 'meat-grinder' and, from her mug-shot, ma-ma's days as a prostitute were innocent times in comparison to where we,the audience, not Dredd (because god-knows-what's-going-through-his-vizored-head) encountered her.

All of which makes Dredd's black & white devotion to the the Law stand-out that much more which is kinda the point of his character. It's Anderson's Judgement that lies more in the grey-area that Dredd doesn't inhabit. He begins to realise this for the first time as the final moments close and he gives her the pass.