Dredd (2012)

[Muon]

Okay, I finally saw Dredd (I live in Tokyo and it just came out in Japan yesterday). I absolutely loved it. The cinematography was amazing and it was definitely the best use if 3D I've ever seen. Karl Urban was great and I thought Olivia Thirlby was even better. I've been looking forward to it since September and in a lot of ways the movie actually exceeded my expectations. What really struck me about it was how arty and downbeat it is for an action movie. I got a real sense of tragedy from it, particularly with Ma Ma's death and Anderson's execution of the woman's husband. Drawbacks to it were the middle part, which starts to drag a bit, and the scene where the corrupt judge starts gloating over Dredd for what seems about ten minutes. Very minor drawbacks, though.

I saw it with three friends: two American guys who only really know the Stallone version and an Irish guy who's a big 2000 AD fan. My Irish mate said it was "fucking great". One of my American mates thought it was okay for what it was but said he's much more into character-driven independent films. The other guy enjoyed it and said it reminded him in a good way of John Carpenter films from the 70s and 80s.

There were about 30 people in the cinema - all men. There were a couple of other non-Japanese guys in the audience, and they sounded Canadian judging by their accents. One of them had already seen the film and he was telling his friend how awesome it was before the film started. I was surprised that the audience was mostly Japanese guys. I was pretty sure before it started that most people would be British blokes in their 30s. I saw it on the early evening showing too so I guess there were more people in the later showing. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, but I still think it won't do a lot of business here based on the small number of cinemas it's showing at. Still, the fact remains that I saw an awesome movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will probably go to see it again.

[Stan]

Drawbacks to it were the middle part, which starts to drag a bit, and the scene where the corrupt judge starts gloating over Dredd for what seems about ten minutes.

I thought it was a little odd that someone was slagging Lex's monologue but then I noticed we just hit page 666.

Not that I'm suggesting you work for Satan or anything. Thanks for the Japan update, Richey. I'd almost forgotten about the late release over there.

[Frank]

There were about 30 people in the cinema - all men ... I was surprised that the audience was mostly Japanese guys. I was pretty sure before it started that most people would be British blokes in their 30s. I saw it on the early evening showing too so I guess there were more people in the later showing. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, but I still think it won't do a lot of business here based on the small number of cinemas it's showing at. Still, the fact remains that I saw an awesome movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will probably go to see it again.

Thanks for the update, Richey. Glad you enjoyed the film, and if you could keep us abreast of public opinion and box office performance where you are it would be very much appreciated. Has the film been widely reviewed there, and what's the critical consensus?

[Muon]

I thought it was a little odd that someone was slagging Lex's monologue but then I noticed we just hit page 666.

I guess it was not so much the monologue, as I understand it had a really important function in establishing how much of a reputation Dredd has... I guess it was more how the scene worked that I had a slight issue with. It kind of confused me because I didn't understand why Dredd said "wait." I wasn't sure if we're meant to think he can see Anderson behind Lex or something. It was only a small thing, though, and maybe I was picking holes a bit trying to be balanced when what was really going through my mind straight after seeing the film was was "OMG DREDD IS TEH AMSUM!!!1!!" 

[Muon]

Thanks for the update, Richey. Glad you enjoyed the film, and if you could keep us abreast of public opinion and box office performance where you are it would be very much appreciated. Has the film been widely reviewed there, and what's the critical consensus?

Thanks. From what I've seen, it hasn't been widely reviewed or publicized. I checked the websites of some of the major Japanese newspapers and couldn't find anything Dredd related. The good news is that what I've found suggests a really positive reaction. I found a review on Yahoo blogs Japan that gave the film 5 stars (I'm presuming out of 5). The reviewer was really taken with the 3D and liked how Dredd seems to be a departure from the usual fake, CGI-driven Hollywood blockbusters to a grittier approach. I also found a website that seems like a Japanese version of Rotten Tomatoes, where normal movie fans post reviews (I'm guessing they aren't professional movie critics anyway), and the ones I read seemed really positive too. Interestingly, the Japanese comments and reviews I've read suggest they get the subtleties of Dredd a lot more than people from the US or UK for people who are clearly not familiar with the source material. Some comments said the movie made them think. They also seemed to respond to the technical achievements of the film a bit more. Amusingly, one of the negative comments was by someone who was expecting a kind of sequel to the Stallone version and came away disappointed.  Anyway, it looks like the movie has been relatively well-received here so far. Nice!

[Steve Green]

It's about the other one, but I wonder if this poster inspired Rob Williams for 'Dredd's Daystick'?

[JOE SOAP]

[A.Cow]

Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere on the forum, but I thought others would appreciate this competition-winning short from Ain't It Cool News (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/60604):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZg-h3X7K50

[James Stacey]

genius

[captain_skank]

Very nice - could've done with him at the flix on saturday

[Fisticuffs]

Very amusing, nicely done.

[Teivion]

Feel daft that its taken me this long to realise - those early external shots we all saw online were the inside set of Peach Trees....

I always thought the internal shots of Dredd and Anderson in the lower floor atrium were shot on the Green Screen set used for the various levels

...but no they were all shot outside at an external location.
Doh !

...so even more kudos for the photography, lighting and genius of the film crew.

[Hawkmumbler]

This guy should get an award for genius. We've all been in that situation.

[Bubba Zebill]

Feel daft that its taken me this long to realise - those early external shots we all saw online were the inside set of Peach Trees....

I always thought the internal shots of Dredd and Anderson in the lower floor atrium were shot on the Green Screen set used for the various levels

...but no they were all shot outside at an external location.
Doh !

...so even more kudos for the photography, lighting and genius of the film crew.

It's one of the scenes I really liked, as they first enter PT. Shooting by day...then a night shot for the 'interior'. YT has a bunch of stuff on how the brilliant fx team built up the inside of PT, I didn't post it as it seems to be from the DVD...and has no doubt been posted here loads already.

[Spikes]

Has this been borrowed from the 'Is Dredd Gay?' thread?