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The problem with that is that the whole production has adopted a realistic look - set against that background the uniform has to make sense.  I'd guess that a large part of that decision is budget, coupled with a desire to use practical sets over CGI (a very futuristic MC-1 setting would be expensive to realise with physical sets, dressing and costuming - a more near-contemporary urban dystopia more achievable), and to some extent to emulate the path followed by the Batman franchise.  The latter point bleeds over into a need to distance itself visually and thus tonally from the '90's camp of its immediate predecessor, just as Batman Begins did.

Going the realistic route could be an inspired move by the producers or a huge mistake. It is a risk because it's hard to know if fans and your average film goer will prefer a realistic, gritty version of Judge Dredd.

The big difference between Batman and Dredd is Mega-City 1 is a city of the future  and Gotham is a city of the present. The Batman franchise has to stay rooted in the present so the world it depicts can't be too over-the-top but Judge Dredd is set in the future and, in theory, anything is possible. If Batman used a teleportation device or dimension jump fans would think that is too extreme but that technology is available in Dredd's world.

Psi power is featured in the Dredd screenplay so that helps to make it feel like a sci-fi world. 

Big shoulder pads are unwieldy, but they're also reminiscent of what people saw in 1995.

Yes, but it's hard to know where to draw the line. For every person saying the original design would look too bulky or silly on screen, another person could say the Dark Judges would look silly too. What is silly and what's not? There's no clear distinction.

My own view is Judge Dredd is science fiction so anything is possible and if the audience buy into the concept of super powerful Judges enforcing the law in a crazy city called Mega-City 1 they will accept the Judges wear large gear. I understand the other point of view, but it's hard to get past the fact Dredd is sci-fi so it doesn't have to be that realistic. A guy that never takes off his helmet in public could be argued as being silly but we accept that so larger shoulder pads isn't that hard to believe in.

The uniform is so radical it's bound to alienate some fans. I assume the producers were aware of that but thought it was worth the risk reinventing the look for a new film audience. Time will tell if they made the right call.

Two things I noticed - Urban's uniform tends to look one colour, blue. Perhaps it's the lighting but it doesn't appear to have the gold and green of 2000AD's Judge Dredd.

The other thing is the uniforms look very scratched and kinda dirty which goes with the grim and gritty vibe they're aiming for but it's not how I imagine Judges to look. I always got the impression Judges would have shiny uniforms and have a strong, perhaps obsessive, mind to maintain their appearance. Dredd always seems fussy about how Judges deport themselves. And I assume Justice Dept would have enough credits to hire someone to clean and polish the uniforms.