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...Judge Callahan

Incidentally, I now have over 100 posts and am no longer a Sub Basement Sewer Dweller, and I am still unable to post in the film discussion forum.

What gives?

I'm putting down to them a) being swamped by n00bs as a result of the film and b) perhaps, just perhaps, the film has attracted a lot of other people wanting to make an anime version of all the progs and c) make another film. I live and dream

Not to pour fuel on the fire, but the fact is Dredd's helmet has always been too big and awkward. The film version is relatively modest compared to some of the Vader-esque (without the crease) splaying domes portrayals in some of the progs...

I suppose the problem is that Urban isn't a small guy, yet even the films relatively modest helmet dwarfs him. But he does do the grimace perfectly, uses his chin as best he can and delivers Dredd as Dredd. And that, really, is all the matters.

Agree with Bladerunner tho...

I think the switching my brain off factor doesn't work so well for modern action flicks like Expendables 2 since they just seem to parody 80's flicks which were a parody in and of themselfs. Or mayebe it's because I just don't like anything with Stallone in it(nothing to do with Dredd 95 mind you).

lol. Well I'm certainly not going to defend Stallone or Expendables 2.

I was just saying that's a film you couldn't care less about plot holes, because it's crap and doesn't make you want to pay attention.

I have heard good things about Twilight Samurai which is pretty overdue on my to-watch list at this point.

On the other hand, this is a great film. Quite harrowing at times, but it's a story of how honour can lead to demise and then vindication. In a rigid society like feudal Japan, this is life and death business.

I never watched the Rurouni Kenshin animated series or read the comic (or manga rather) but I do have the 4 part mini series called Samurai X, does this live action film have anything to do with that?

Samurai X and Rurouni Kenshin are used interchangeably - you most probably have the Trust & Betrayal OVA, which is a concise version of the whole story that fills in pieces the film misses and without the padding of the series.

While there are a couple of other OVA's that present arcs (Reflections & Cage of Flames), the film (Requiem for Patriots), the 3-season/95-episode series and the Trust & Betrayal OVA are 3 different representations of the same base story, so I'd expect this new film to depict this.

Oh, and just for the record, Takeshi Kitano's version of Zatoichi was superb.

Indeed, but I prefer not to compare it with the original series of films starring Shintaro Katsu and think of it as a standalone Kitano film. Love the character though.

And while we're on the subject of Kitano films, I watched Outrage recently. Brutally unpleasant to say the least, even for Kitano standards.

Hadn't heard of Outrage yet... on my watchlist now. We just don't get exposure to these films in the UK 

BTW - If anyone doesn't know who Kitano is, then you have a duty to watch Battle Royale and in the process earn the right to completely destroy a Hollywood teenage angst movie released earlier this year.

lol Aw come on man! Here I am enjoying the reference I made with the scene and you have to come over and tell me it's a plot-hole, thanks a lot.

Seriously though, things like that don't come to my mind when I'm enjoying a good film and even when they do I don't let them bother me that much. I'm just not the kind of person that puts too nuch faith in movie realism.

To answere your question though, I would go with the former as well since I believe that [spoiler]Anderson needs to be in close proximity to scan someones mind[/spoiler]

I didn't mean to point it out in a bad light... it's just that it had to make me think why he did that, and by the very virtue I was doing that in this film actually pays homage to its quality. Compare and contrast something like Expendables 2, where you don't have to think very much (though I enjoyed that film a lot as it didn't take itself seriously).

So on the one hand you can put it down to continuity, but on the other you can put it down to some sort of suspense in a whodunnit how sort of way...

Have you ever seen a japanese flick called Zatoichi, by directer Takeshi Kitano? That film uses digitally rendered blood which makes all the violent swordplay look rather pretty, dare I say artistic and keep the film from being pointlessly gory. I think the 3D and slow-mo scenes work for Dredd the same way, although I geuss the violence in Dredd has a point to it in that it reflects how bleak and violent Mega City 1 is.

AHA! Now you're talking at my level. Yup, Zatoichi the blind samurai is fantastic. If you like those films, I strongly suggest you watch another called Twilight Samurai, which is even better though not Takeshi Kitano, and there's another film that's about to hit our shores called Rurouni Kenshin, which is almost an exact replica of one of the best Anime's around (see http://kotaku.com/5938365/the-live-action-rurouni-kenshin-movie-is-a-nearly-perfect-film-adaptation for a review).

But in Dredd, I personally saw references to Drive though, which has gone down into one of my 'top 10' films as it's just excellent on many levels.

Exactly, Dredd is one of those "less-is-more" films that deliveres on a practical scale rather then an overly epic scope of things like the 95 film.

This is also why I will probably consider Dredd a better film then the Raid when I get round to watching it eventually but quit frankly, the Raid strikes as a film that only delivers on an a level of none-stop action which is nice but a tad bit shallow. Have you seen in by the way?

No - not watched the Raid yet, but I have it on my watchlist. From what I've read though it's about the fight choreography, which is a bit meh and Matrix-esque to me, and doesn't amazingly add to a film, unless you're using actors who can actually fight properly (see Ong Bak), and I will be going into watching that film with that frame of mind.

Currently though I'm a bit overloaded between some seriously good telly (Homeland), re-reading Dredd progs from the beginning and an absolute megaton of work, so I'm literally planning when I can shit to fit it all in!

2) When Judge Lex [spoiler]has Dredd cornered and Dredd baits him into stalling time long enough for Anderson to sneak up at shoot him[/spoiler], that bit soooo reminded me of "When you wan't to shoot, shoot! Don't talk" from The Good The Bad & The Ugly.

There is a little continuity flaw with the [spoiler]wait[/spoiler] sequence - how did Dredd know [spoiler]to delay[/spoiler] Lex? Did [spoiler]Anderson 'mind ping' Dredd to tell him she'd broken free[/spoiler] and was coming down or did Dredd just [spoiler]expect her[/spoiler] to provide backup?

My bet (and hope) is on the former, as it makes it deliciously tactical.

Ma Ma playing in the bath

Agreed. Beautiful too. And also really balanced the film's violence and relentlessness with moments of calm to stop and reflect what's happening (especially for us fans!).

Generally, I found that Dredd's tone throughout the film being totally deadpan and not as I said earlier 'a ridiculous Bond-style climax to a set piece' benefits Dredd's portrayal that much better.

No doubt when Dredd hits DVD and becomes a cult classic, you'll get the same people coming out of the woodwork professing how cool Dredd is and that you must see it!

I fully expect this to happen. The US and all bad critiques either still remember the travesty of Stallone Dredd and avoided this one like the plague as a result (I would've too if I didn't know better and wasn't a fan). Or they're a bunch of film ponces who are comparing it to The Raid which is a baseless argument as it's a completely different story and execution (I'm not a fan of blatant fight choreography, unless it looks like a real fight).

Nevertheless, I've been telling loads of people, both Dredd and non-Dredd fans alike to just go and bloody well watch it because it's truly excellent whether you are or aren't a Dredd fan. Slowly, but surely I think it'll be a sure-fire hit, but underground (or should I say Mega City) style... I just hope Alex & Co hits the $50m target so we get MORE!

Yeah - I got so annoyed with Tony Smith's 'meh' review over at the Register (http://www.reghardware.com/2012/09/07/dredd_3d_film_review/), but with him stating he is a fan and actually making positive comments to the Stallone film tipped me over the edge enough that I decided to do something about it.

Anyway, I've reposted my riposte review for posterity below, though now I've started re-reading Dredd I've realised I've made a few mistakes, like the fact the lawgiver is indeed accurately sized (I seemed to remember as a wide-eyed 12 year old that it was a lot bigger).

In the process, I may also upset some people here with the content and tone. If it does, I apologise in advance, but I think I make the point...

I'm a 2000AD fan and totally despised Stallone's attempt. Mega City is a dystopia, and Judges are outnumbered, so how would you portray the world? The gritty, grotty dystopia portrayed in this film fits the bill perfectly as the gaudy shiny happy things that make other SF totally fail in my opinion, and makes them look, quite frankly, terrible. The film provides a perfect setting of Mega City One. Sure there could be a few more notions of 'future' put in, but that's just a matter of budget and in reality don't add anything meaningful to a film other than opportunities for product placement.

Yes, there are some things I would have made better. Dredd's bike could be a bit more of a monster - some hybrid of a Harley Davidson and the Batman Tumbler batbike minus the ridiculous gold trimmings in the comic would have been much more awesome than the Japanese tin that was used in the film. The lawgiver also didn't look mean enough to dish out Dredd law. That said, the crappy eagle and chain on the judge's uniform being removed and his general look to a more practical flak jacket, is actually worthwhile - even in the comic it looks unrealistic, unwieldy and crap. Similarly with the battle scarred helmet and dusty uniform just adds to how Judges are fighting a never ending battle - so I think 2012 Dredd makes him look better, more realistic and more potent as a result.

My view is that a lot of the aspects of the comic were well placed, and well thought out too, from the chopper posters, to the portrayal of fatties and so forth. The story didn't really lend itself to telling the story of Mega City, so only parting shots were shown to allow the viewers to concentrate on what's happening in the block. Tony Smith's view that Garland has pared down Dredd to any commando tough cop is ridiculous. What is Dredd other than the epitome of exactly that? The one liners were delivered, without being made into the climax of a ridiculous set piece as are cliches epitomised by Bond. Dredd delivers one liners in the dry, laconic and as a matter of fact manner we know and love, and that portrays his personality better as a result. The ending of the film is also typical Dredd: to paraphrase not to ruin it [spoiler]'just another day in the office, ma'am'[/spoiler] - short, sharp, succinct and 100% pure unadulterated Dredd.

Anderson's portrayal is admirable too. A slightly more fragile judge with a different take on the law than Dredd is apparent, and quite frankly great even though somewhat different (better IMO) than the comic. From the [spoiler]visit into the mind[/spoiler] to the [spoiler]'wait'[/spoiler] sequence, she develops in the film from a fragile no-hoper to a deliciously mean mind fucker, and in the process begins to overrule Dredd [spoiler]'He's a victim, not a perp'[/spoiler]. Naturally Dredd mostly gets his way [spoiler](third option: attack)[/spoiler] that any other Judge wouldn't logically choose and only Dredd would, could and does.

As a big fan of Drive, the artistic breaks shown in the slo-mo sequences were brilliant to give the viewer a totally unexpected, beautiful and welcome break from the relentlessness of the film. The director kept it tight and sweet without any lingering, yet in the process the artistic violence makes John Woo's best look like Bambi. The story is deeper than a simple take the block, but the fact it is so tight and doesn't linger too long in back stories that will only confuse non-Dredd readers leaves it open to make Dredd the franchise that he deserves. That said, the story is complete, with plenty of points of views to keep it interesting. Garland has made a story that isn't Garland-esque and generally slow and boring, but genuine and relentless.

Again, I disagree with Tony Smith - this film has not been made for the mass market at all. You have to like violence and gore. You have to appreciate Dredd is a cornier toon than Dirty Harry. You have to appreciate beautiful cinematography and you have to be able to think outside of the comic and into an original perception of Dredd's world if your a fan. But I think it's all done so brilliantly, it's actually in my view, an even more gritty and realistic view of Dredd's world than the comic.

Lastly Karl Urban's intimate knowledge having grown up himself reading Dredd does give the character the treatment he deserves. In fact, as an actor he's got into Dredd's carcass so well this is an award-winning performance - you don't really need to say more than that. He never takes the helmet off apart from the aforementioned shadow shot where he's putting it on. The chin, the voice, the grimace and Dredd's single minded 'Justice' and dryness is all perfect.

So no, Tony, I totally disagree with your critique. Justice has finally been done on film to the ultimate law giver. It's gritty, relentless, beautiful and makes absolutely bugger all attempt to appease itself to the mass market by fully embracing the violence and gore deserving an 18. It is so unexpectedly good and so astonishingly exceeding my expectations it really is fantastic.

Lets hope something similar will be done to my personal favourite 2000AD character: Rogue Trooper.

Thanks for the lovely welcome. Initially I thought it was a bit weird having to go through this introduction process to get approved, but I think it actually works quite well since all of you kind people actually welcome us n00bs.

@Dandontdare - looked up that ABC Warriors trailer and it was like... More please!

Anyway, first batch of Case Files arriving Tuesday, so will be in comicworm mode for a while

Hello fellow perps,

Long time 2000AD fan here, though I think you'd all classify me as one of your typical 35 year old 'zombie fans' as opposed to an out-and-out Dreddhead. I used to read 2000AD in late 80's and early 90's as a young lad, and played the Mega Mania and Block Mania board games with a friend of mine, who actually got me hooked on 2000AD in the first place - another 'zombie fan' who's still actively reading, unlike myself. Having just watched the new film, though, I'm thoroughly reinvigorated and remotivated to return to 2000AD again.

I did stop reading 2000AD around the time of the first Stallone film, which I utterly despised, but it was more a function of growing up than the film putting me off, however my interest in comics never waned and I started getting quite seriously into Anime. I won't bore you too much with that, as it's obviously off topic, but a few of my favourites are: Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X), Witch Hunter Robin, Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolf's Rain, Claymore & Last Exile.

It is a secret wish of mine to see all the various 2000AD characters adapted as OVA's to a long series faithful to the comics - this way we can see a fully animated version of our favourite characters and a good representation of what the stories would look like on screen that'd be even better than any static storyboard could represent. I mention OVA's as opposed to direct Animes as the former are directly based on the comics/manga as opposed to being adapted to the animation.

Way back when I read 2000AD, I generally read the Annuals, though I think I will begin to reinvest some time back into Dredd and Rogue Trooper, as I thoroughly enjoyed both in my yoof.

The new film has definitely brought me back, as it was such an unexpected surprise and so thoroughly exceeded my expectations, it's reopened my mind as to what can be done with Dredd.

"I am the law." Forever