DREDD reviews. (SPOILERS!)

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

DREDD might be affected by bad timing you could argue. The Raid effectively raided both DREDD's plot and publicity thunder. Since it was a surprise hit comparisons were inevitable. Releasing the Film later in November might have been better but no matter what time you released the DREDD Movie two similar Films with similar sounding plots would have been compared. Generally the reviews appear to favour The Raid with it's inventive martial arts orientated fight scenes. So strike one against DREDD I'm afraid.   

I don't think there's a lot you could do about that since DREDD a medium sized Film would have been lost amongst the Summer Blockbuster of Avengers, DKR etc so release it in the Fall seemed like the right idea.

[JOE SOAP]

People who didn't turn out to see Dredd didn't turn out to see the Raid either.

[JOE SOAP]

Dredd will have made more at the US Box-Office this weekend than the Raid made worldwide.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Let's hope so. Maybe DREDD will be a grower gathering momentum rather than landing with a big splash.

[critter]

Saw Dredd in 3D Friday night. Loved it. I loved the run down condition of Peach Trees block. It kept my attention from beginng to end. I loved the dark humor, action, and the banter between Dredd and Anderson. I've been hyping this movie up to friends and coworkers, seems that I've make no mistake. Even if we don't see part 2, I'm glad they gave this one.

critter

[chuckwallah]

I'm somewhat disappointed. As a bog standard cops vs gangs in a slum type film it was pretty good. As a Dredd film it was merely OK.
I have to admit that I was expecting to be disappointed the moment I found out that it was only in 3D, I mean, black uniformed characters chasing grungy perps in dark coridoors all viewed through the medium of dark tinted specs? what were they thinking? And it cost £2 more for the priveledge of this 'dark vision'.

Perhaps if they hadn't spent money on 3D they might have had some left over for the sets which were distinctly unfuturistic. When I first saw a picture of the uniform I thought "Ah-Ha they are going back to issue one" but sadly I was wrong, they went all the way back to before the look was ever conceived. The Stallone Dredd may have been painfully wrong but at least it looked right, eg no VW microbus's on ground level highways, Lawmasters with more than just an extended cowling etc, etc.
Anderson, Psi Division. No sign of her anywhere, just this mutant creep who might be useful to the judges.
Drokking hell, what about the foul language?
In summary, I thought the Dredd and Anderson characters were well played, although at times I felt that Dredd was excessively talkative, the villains were believable if overoptimistic. There was a nice bit of indiscriminate carnage and a satisfying ending with no snogging.
The story had a few massive plot holes (in common with every other action film). I got very confused with which version of Dredd and which time period was being portrayed (this wouldn't concern someone who hadn't been reading Dredd from issue one, it did bother me).
MC1 looked like exactlylike what it was - a cut and paste pastiche of 20th century city centres (Jo-burg and Capetown I believe) - and nothing like the futuristic megacity that we have all come to know and love. The vehicles were a joke, including the lawmasters, and the megablocks were simply too small.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Interesting!

Could you explain why you thought Dredd was 'excessively talkative' as I found his use of commands and instructions spot on, short, clear and direct!
You mention that the debacle that was Stallones utter dirge looked right and then quote that it didn't have 'VW microbus's on ground level highways, Lawmasters with more than just an extended cowling etc, etc.' Care to elucidate! The Stallone Lawmaster was an absolute joke, in performance and sound. You can't just mention one thing and then go etc, etc...
You also mention plot holes, could you list all those as well instead of just saying that!
You say that it was only in 3D, from what I gather, there are showings of it in 2D, so that statement in incorrect.

Now I'm not having a go at you but you mention things and then don't back them up.

[PsychoGoatee]

Anderson, Psi Division. No sign of her anywhere, just this mutant creep who might be useful to the judges.
Drokking hell, what about the foul language?
In summary, I thought the Dredd and Anderson characters were well played, although at times I felt that Dredd was excessively talkative

Everybody has different taste, so while I love the movie I can see why you might not dig the focus on one gang encounter and the less farout sci-fi look.

But this bit I quoted, not sure what you mean. For one why say Anderson is a creep? She's a very compassionate, kind Judge and she's a rookie, less confident and humorous than often in the books but still a lot of her character I'd say. Plus then you say she was well played, so not quite getting the criticism on her part there.

Also saying Dredd was excessively talkative seems odd, he speaks less often in the movie than he does in the comics. There probably hasn't been a less talkative protagonist since Charles Bronson in Once Upon A Time In The West.

[PsychoGoatee]

You mention that the debacle that was Stallones utter dirge looked right

To be fair, complaints about the Lawmaster aside, the Stallone movie has one of the better looking stylized sci-fi future cities, pretty much in movie history. If that movie did one thing right, for me it did that right.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I've always said that the skyline (note I don't say streets, as they look just like normal streets) and the Angel Gang were superb in that turd of a movie. Everything else was a big pile of the steaming kind!

[PsychoGoatee]

I disagree personally, take the Block War scene, the sets and look of the cits and the city in general to me is a very very cool comic sci-fi stylized city. Plus I actually like the movie, but that's talk for another thread I know. 

[junox]

everyone... .  . " cheer up "
here's  a cool comic  group podcast
MMM Podcast, Episode 89:

http://www.modernmythmedia.com/2012/09/mmm-podcast-episode-89-dredd-roundtable/

[TordelBack]

...and the megablocks were simply too small.

Oh come on!  If anything, the blocks were bigger than the comic equivalent. You make some fair points, but that one is daft: the scale of the blocks, and the terrifying scale of the city itself, was conveyed perfectly.

MC-1 may not have been the high-SF flange-topped skyline of (some of) the comics, but it was a frighteningly convincing urban dystopia: what a post-apocalyptic spawl of almost a billion souls would be like.  Can't you just see that place emerging from the chaos of Dredd and Rico's first night on the streets in Origins?

Coming back to the VW microbuses, I confess that since Friday's viewing my Ford Fiesta Lawmaster has been merrily machine gunning the tires of many a Transit van as I weave fearlessly through the school run traffic.  "I'm taking them down".  BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA (and maybe a PZZOOOO for good measure).

[shaolin_monkey]

Coming back to the VW microbuses, I confess that since Friday's viewing my Ford Fiesta Lawmaster has been merrily machine gunning the tires of many a Transit van as I weave fearlessly through the school run traffic.  "I'm taking them down".  BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA (and maybe a PZZOOOO for good measure).

Hahahha!  I've been doing exactly the same on my pushbike, at every car that cuts me up! 

'Dredd to Control: clean-up squad and meatwagon required for Newport Road MegWay - 3 for Resyk!'

[Michaelvk]

I overheard Alex saying something about the tech, which went a way to explain away some of the 'retroness'..

Basically, he said that he reckons that like in any big city there are areas which are massive shitholes where all the latest and greatest stuff hasn't filtered down yet. This goes for civvie as well as law enforcement equipment. As this is more near future (how many 1950's Land Rovers are still kicking around, as well and 100 year old Colt 1911 .45's), there's a make-do-and-mend attitude, which means utilising old world equipment and vehicles.