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DREDD reviews. (SPOILERS!)

Started by blackmocco, 30 August, 2012, 10:17:57 PM

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Steve Green

Remember that still of the shot exiting the block?

It looked like it was a fair few floors up.

Hairwolf

Quote from: blackmocco on 11 September, 2012, 11:35:17 PM
Quote from: Michaelvk on 11 September, 2012, 08:00:01 PM
Really? I cringe every time Statham does an American accent.. Why they insist on making him do one is beyond me.. What about Tom Hardy for Rouge trooper?

Did I dream this once? Wasn't Rutger Hauer loosely attached to a Rogue Trooper project back in the 90's...? Did that ever really happen...?

You didn't dream it, I remember the rumours that the property had been optioned and he was attached to the proposed movie.
Not sure why it never happened

radiator

My girlfriend is now raving about how amazing Dredd is on facebook.

So proud (sniff).

mygrimmbrother

Quote from: radiator on 12 September, 2012, 11:03:13 AM
My girlfriend is now raving about how amazing Dredd is on facebook.

So proud (sniff).

This is wonderful. My own girlfriend came out of the cinema proclaiming it a 10 out of 10, and she doesn't read the comics and often (in a nice way) takes the rip a little bit. And she does have very good taste in films.

James Stacey

My girlfriend wants to buy me a judges helmet as she thinks I'll look good in it. Hope she means that in a good way.

Tiplodocus

As mentioned elsewhere, I thought this was mostly excellent;  and everybody is gushing about the great bits which I agree with. So here are some of the things I wasn't sure of:

Dredd's excessive use of violence on Kay.  Seemed a bit strong for me and I'd have thought if another Judge had done it, Dredd would be bringing them up on a charge.  And Anderson should possibly have formally cautioned him about it (as it is, she did stop him, just in a different way). However, John Wagner said he thought the portrayal of Dredd was spot on so I guess that's just something from my head.

MEGA-CITY ONE not "a character". Or not "the character" it is in the comics.  Sure we had glimpses of it and the madness that lies out there but I felt it was mostly doom and gloom madness not the quirky madness of the MC-1 from the comics.  By keeping the action within Peach Trees (which i fully understand the reasons for), we missed out on getting that essential Mega City madness which is as much a part of the strip for me as Dredd busting heads.

Pacing slightly off - not mine this but a couple of people who have seen it in the office actually felt it dragged slightly in the middle - until the 4 other Judges turned up. It actually worked for me but did any other boarders hear this comment?

Be excellent to each other. And party on!

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Tiplodocus on 12 September, 2012, 01:17:31 PM
Dredd's excessive use of violence on Kay.  Seemed a bit strong for me and I'd have thought if another Judge had done it, Dredd would be bringing them up on a charge.

As I've said elsewhere, Dredd's also all about expediency: the realisation that Ma-Ma's seemingly disproportionate response to a single arrest is intended to keep Kay out of the interrogation cells makes extracting that information a priority, whether they can get him to the cubes or not.

QuoteMEGA-CITY ONE not "a character". Or not "the character" it is in the comics.  Sure we had glimpses of it and the madness that lies out there but I felt it was mostly doom and gloom madness not the quirky madness of the MC-1 from the comics.

Dredd has always encompassed a wide range of stories and the 'madness' of MC-1 is dialled up or down as the story requires. For this movie, budgetary concerns notwithstanding, the focus needs to be on Dredd. It has to be his movie. The beauty of Dredd (the strip) is that he is the rock around which varied stories can accrete, but it's imperative that the audience gets Dredd if you're going to move forward with a franchise and want to stand a chance of presenting any of those wider elements in future movies.

QuotePacing slightly off - not mine this but a couple of people who have seen it in the office actually felt it dragged slightly in the middle - until the 4 other Judges turned up. It actually worked for me but did any other boarders hear this comment?

Off for me. Drags going into the final act, but, despite having tried hard to avoid spoilers I'd had most of the major plot points and a couple of twists spoiled either here, or by reviewers, so I was waiting for, or expecting, stuff to happen. Going with people who are entirely unspoiled on Saturday, so will report back.

I do wonder about the lack of a full-on action finale and -- with hindsight -- wonder whether the shootout with the judges shouldn't have been moved to after the Ma-Ma denouement. A relatively minor tweak to the script (the other judges are either running Peach Trees or turning a blind eye for cash) would give them motivation to take out Dredd and Anderson and would make the final confrontation one in which they were more physically challenged.

(I should stress that the above is a quibble, not a major criticism for me.)

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 12 September, 2012, 01:34:48 PM

I do wonder about the lack of a full-on action finale and -- with hindsight -- wonder whether the shootout with the judges shouldn't have been moved to after the Ma-Ma denouement. A relatively minor tweak to the script (the other judges are either running Peach Trees or turning a blind eye for cash) would give them motivation to take out Dredd and Anderson and would make the final confrontation one in which they were more physically challenged.



To me that would've been more anticlimactic and kind of misses the point of the story as a whole. Dredd defusing the bomb and throwing Ma-Ma to her death is really the end thematically and narratively anything that would follow that might come off a bit like the Scouring of the Shire syndrome: we've billed the baddie, now his another you may have forgotten.

radiator

Meh, I don't get the criticism that it drags at all - it's one of the paciest and most finely-tuned films I can think of. Having seen it multiple times now it still absolutely breezes by; there's something cool happening at least every five minutes which really keeps the pace up. Every time it looks like it's going to slow down, something new gets thrown into the mix - be it the chain guns, the bent judges or another dazzling slow motion sequence.

FWIW I thought The Raid dragged a lot more in it's quieter moments (and believe me, that film is not the non-stop action-fest it's been pitched as), simply because it didn't have anywhere near as engaging a story or cast of characters as Dredd.

QuoteOff for me. Drags going into the final act, but, despite having tried hard to avoid spoilers I'd had most of the major plot points and a couple of twists spoiled either here, or by reviewers, so I was waiting for, or expecting, stuff to happen. Going with people who are entirely unspoiled on Saturday, so will report back.

I could tell my girlfriend (who knew absolutely nothing about the film) wasn't loving it right at the start - remember her checking the time on her phone about 15mins in - but as soon as Mama gave the order to lock down the block, that was it - she was gripped to the very end. As for plot twists, she seemed a little confused about the bent judges to start with (why they killed the medic etc), but got it eventually.

staticgirl

I wasn't at all spoiled and for me the emotional climax was the journey of Ma-Ma's descent. It was so intense and beautiful and violent that I felt she was an evil angel going to her hell. It was immense and then there's that pause and Dredd saying: "Yup" and turning away which was like a sledgehammer.

Personally, I thought the pacing was pretty good. Even when they were creeping round the block the different levels felt quite distinct from each other and there was always something quite big happening elsewhere if not immediately with Dredd and Anderson.

I must say I enjoyed the film far more than I expected to. I'd got really bored in the advert/trailer section beforehand and my seat was bloody uncomfortable.  I haven't been to the cinemas since Avatar came out. I don't have much to go on but either the artistic expression and use of 3D has really improved since Avatar or Dredd is just really special on a shot by shot frame design level.

My only minor quibble was that 3D glasses are quite dark and I couldn't wear them with my glasses so I couldn't quite see the detail.

I've been in a bit of an excited frame of mind since Monday evening, I can't settle!

By the way the Socialist Worker liked it (albeit with an obligatory reference to Th*tch*r) so it must be good. ;)

Jim_Campbell

To be clear: I felt the pace flag a little. I don't honestly care if others didn't -- in fact, I'm delighted if others didn't, but I'm not the only one who felt it. In my case, I strongly suspect it's because I had so much of the film spoilered by idiot reviewers or people on here who couldn't keep their fucking pie-holes shut on non-spoiler threads, so I honestly can't say whether it is an issue with the film.

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

radiator

Fair enough - I was commenting on it as its a point I've also seen made in a fair few reviews.

shaolin_monkey

Quote from: radiator on 12 September, 2012, 01:54:59 PM
I could tell my girlfriend (who knew absolutely nothing about the film) wasn't loving it right at the start - remember her checking the time on her phone about 15mins in - but as soon as Mama gave the order to lock down the block, that was it - she was gripped to the very end. As for plot twists, she seemed a little confused about the bent judges to start with (why they killed the medic etc), but got it eventually.

You know, that's exactly the reaction my date had.  She said it was quite enjoyable at the start, and she was reasonably entertained, but it wasn't until Ma-ma locked down the block where she really sat up and got interested.  She got the bit with the medic though.

As for pace, I thought it was finely tuned.  I've seen it four times now, and never been bored.  I thought the action right up to Ma-Ma was brilliant.  As soon as Anderson lets the computer kid go, it's a real kind of 'right, let's get down to business' feel. 

Her and Dredd working the corridors, taking out the trash, really felt fluid and exciting.  It also completed Anderson's character development - she was at ease with what she was doing, and her and Dredd had 'synched', if you know what I mean.  They fell into step like a well oiled machine, all communication non-verbal, and brutally effective.  That was a far cry from her stumblings at the start, such as when they busted the Slo-Mo drug den apartment at the start.



So yeah, overall it was perfectly paced, if you ask me.

Keef Monkey

As far as the pacing, I've actually found that it's flown by quicker with every repeated watch, I've never found it drag personally. Which surprises me, because usually with even the best films I'll be riveted the first time and then start to find things a bit baggy on a second watch.

radiator

QuoteHer and Dredd working the corridors, taking out the trash, really felt fluid and exciting.  It also completed Anderson's character development - she was at ease with what she was doing, and her and Dredd had 'synched', if you know what I mean.  They fell into step like a well oiled machine, all communication non-verbal, and brutally effective.  That was a far cry from her stumblings at the start, such as when they busted the Slo-Mo drug den apartment at the start.

Yep, loved that - there's a bit where they're advancing down the corridor and Dredd taps Anderson on the shoulder to signal her to go. It's a really cool moment.

The original script had a scene at the end where Dredd has to give Anderson the kiss of life to resuscitate her, and I'm really glad that didn't make it into the film - would have felt a bit too much I think. I love how they did the same scene, with him tending to her in the elevator.

Something I only picked up on this time was that Dredd clearly knows that Anderson killed that woman's husband - he stares at her in the lift as she tries to come to terms with it. It's a really great moment in the film, and an example of how character is mostly defined by action rather than long monologues or exposition. It feels like a tight script in the best sense - like it has been written and rewritten a dozen times so all the fat has been trimmed away.

QuoteAs far as the pacing, I've actually found that it's flown by quicker with every repeated watch

Yes, I'd agree with that - I also enjoy it more each time too. I was really excited last night because I knew exactly what was coming and couldn't wait to experience the reaction of the audience. I think the first time I saw it - at the fan screening - I was so overwhelmed that the film seemed to wash over me. It's only now that I can really see it.