Dredd, 2012. The perfect film.

[Hap Hazzard]

Watched it again tonight, I won't say how many times that makes it now because it's getting embarrassingly obsessive. It just gets better. I've read Dredd since prog two, always hoped for a good movie even with the crushing disappointment of the Stallone debacle. (That said, he's a good guy in my book). When the new movie was announced I had no hope it was going to be even watchable, let alone good.
So to be completely blown away by what was achieved, to get not just an amazing Dredd film but a superb sci fi thriller too, was unexpected to say the least. For it to utterly destroy every other scifi film of the year, I would never have believed. For it to be the best film of the year in my eyes, I'm still surprised. For it to be one of the best scifi's of the last 40 years I would never have hoped for in my wildest film related dreams.
So. Feck the box office and the plums who didn't drag their sorry carcasses to the cinema to see it. Dredd was a massive success in all other ways, and Grud bless the crew, cast and investors that got this remarkable bit of cinema to the screen. It is a PERFECT film.

Oh and yeah, Grud, if you could see yourself clear to slipping some investors the financial equivalent of a roofie and get a sequel for us, that'll be a little miracle I can get behind, ta very much.

[Hap Hazzard]

Watched it again tonight, I won't say how many times that makes it now because it's getting embarrassingly obsessive. It just gets better. I've read Dredd since prog two, always hoped for a good movie even with the crushing disappointment of the Stallone debacle. (That said, he's a good guy in my book). EDIT But over the years that hope dwindled and gradually disappeared.  EDIT When the new movie was announced I had no hope it was going to be even watchable, let alone good.

Dumbass me. That's night duties eliminating my internal editor for ya.

[Muon]

I was going to disagree about it being one of the best sci-fi films of the past 40 years, but thinking a bit more I guess I could agree it's up there somewhere. The main thing about it for me is that I haven't had such pure enjoyment from a film in a long time.

[radiator]

It's more of an action film than sci fi though. The sci fi element is just trappings and doesn't really have much impact on the story. You could set it in a present day city and you wouldn't have to change much at all.

[JOE SOAP]

It's the best Judge Dredd film, that's all that matters.

[Hawkmumbler]

It's the best Judge Dredd film, that's all that matters.

You quote that from the bill board?

But yeah, although I would discribe it as a sci-fi film it lends more to the action genre.

[dweezil2]

I dunno the clan techie's robotic eyes and the drug Slo-Mo were pretty Sci-Fi concepts.

Either way, as said, it's the better than any Judge Dredd movie we could ever of expected and

it's one of the best Sci-Fi/Action movies ever made in my opinion.

[darnmarr]

It suits me perfectly, but I'm completely biased and perfection is an odd concept when it comes to a creative endevour: fairly hard to prove it.

It's perfect for me because it reminds me of the old Clint Eastwood actioners with a bit of Robocop and Madmax and Escape from New York, and it reminds me of these films, notsomuch because it's has some sort of contrived 'retro'-vibe to it, but because these films share something of the... um... 'balls-to-the-wall' nature of Dredd that I haven't seen in a long time from anywhere else. It also helps that it's also a faithful adaptation of my favourite character and I think it has a depth that can be easily overlooked upon first viewing. Anyway, yeah, for me; perfect.

[Hap Hazzard]

I was going to disagree about it being one of the best sci-fi films of the past 40 years, but thinking a bit more I guess I could agree it's up there somewhere. The main thing about it for me is that I haven't had such pure enjoyment from a film in a long time.

Respectfully gotta disagree with your disagreement, Richey. It used it's science fiction elements as a grounded world in exactly the same way that Blade Runner did - they were simply the world being presented, and the story unfolded within it. The comparisons don't end there either, what with the gorgeous cinematography and effects shots of the city and the opening roof to Peach Trees but that's by the by. You can call it many things, that's whats so perfect about this film - it operates perfectly in all the genres you can ascribe to it. Scifi. Police procedural. Thriller. Action. Plenty more I'm sure others could mention. It's all of them rolled into one, and never once does it shove these elements in your face with unneeded exposition, or filler shots. It's a better scifi than Blade Runner for that - it has no filler, no large inconsistencies. The film is like the character of Dredd himself, hard and uncompromising, straight to the point with no showiness.

My one claim I can make is that I'm betting I'm surely one of the members of the 2000ad fandom that's seen this film most often now - I doubt many others can claim nearly as many viewings - and as nuttily obsessive that may make me, it's with good cause. I never expected a good Dredd film after the damage caused by Sly. For it to destroy all negative expectations and become one of the signature scifi films in forty years, easily - I certainly never dreamed that would happen and so these viewings have been an eye opener. It is a perfect film - every viewing, still, you pick up more from it, and never get bored of any single scene. I can't say that of any other film bar two.  It's perfection. We're damn lucky we got it, regardless whether we get the sequel it truly deserves.

[Bat King]

It's the best Judge Dredd film, that's all that matters.

I'm with Joe on this.

[darnmarr]

It's the best Judge Dredd film, that's all that matters.

I'm with Joe on this.

There hasn't really been much competition in that category.

[junox]

Hap Hazzard

nice  write up , and I'm there with you ,  i still believe this movie  should get better recognition for all it achieved ... I'm still watching it   a few times a week   thankfully off tomorrow so ill be there again...
now would be a good time to release a special copy for the U.K.   harp harp
anyways Hap Hazzard there are many that believe the same   

hope you still come to the forums ALEX GARLAND KARL URBAN JOCK   we  LOVE your movie  even after 50 views   just gets better   

sadly i feel  that i have been cheated ... no thanks to the WORLD box office on this     

[Beaky Smoochies]

Dredd is undoubtedly a pretty good film, but certainly not a great one, it's a highly entertaining (if derivitive) procedural with sci-fi trappings - good point - but also very clunky at times with some major pacing and editing issues - bad point - not to mention a pretty stiff performance from Olivia Thirlby as Anderson (the role of which would have been better suited to someone like Juno Temple), way too much profanity, and action scenes that should have been kinetic and ferocious but came across as merely serviceable.

Whilst the cinematography was uniformly gorgeous, the tone was too unrelentingly bleak, it could have used some of the source comic-book's trademark jet-black humor to balance out the grimness with some levity... and indeed with John Wagner involved in the project at every stage of it's development, there really was no reason not to allow him to give the script a once-over to inject some much-needed gallows humor more prominently into proceedings.

And lastly, it's a pity that the film didn't have either another $5m to play with or was not commissioned as a 3-D presentation in the first place (a useless gimmick at best), in either case, the vehicles would undoubtedly have been more in line with Mega-City design aesthetics and the visual effects team would have given the Mega-City expanse the full treatment they had in mind initially (freeways cutting through buildings, etc).

All told, I think Mark Kermode got it exactly right in his review; it was a very flawed film with some major issues, but was nonetheless a brave, bold, and noble stab at making a more representative Judge Dredd film adaptation... unfortunately, it'll also be the last one for a very  long time indeed, that is unless Megan Ellison is won over to the Dredd cause and cuts them a $40m cheque to make a (non-stereoscopic) sequel!

Just my humble opinion as it stands...

[Hap Hazzard]

Junox, as far as I'm concerned, this movie should be smacked into the face of every working director while banshees whirl around them like the ending to Raiders, screaming "until you can make a film this good don't even fecking try!!!"    That's how good it is.   It is the benchmark that all films should be judged by.  Geddit. See what I did there?

[Hap Hazzard]

Dredd is undoubtedly a pretty good film, but certainly not a great one, it's a highly entertaining (if derivitive) procedural with sci-fi trappings - good point - but also very clunky at times with some major pacing and editing issues - bad point - not to mention a pretty stiff performance from Olivia Thirlby as Anderson (the role of which would have been better suited to someone like Juno Temple), way too much profanity, and action scenes that should have been kinetic and ferocious but came across as merely serviceable.

Whilst the cinematography was uniformly gorgeous, the tone was too unrelentingly bleak, it could have used some of the source comic-book's trademark jet-black humor to balance out the grimness with some levity... and indeed with John Wagner involved in the project at every stage of it's development, there really was no reason not to allow him to give the script a once-over to inject some much-needed gallows humor more prominently into proceedings.

And lastly, it's a pity that the film didn't have either another $5m to play with or was not commissioned as a 3-D presentation in the first place (a useless gimmick at best), in either case, the vehicles would undoubtedly have been more in line with Mega-City design aesthetics and the visual effects team would have given the Mega-City expanse the full treatment they had in mind initially (freeways cutting through buildings, etc).

All told, I think Mark Kermode got it exactly right in his review; it was a very flawed film with some major issues, but was nonetheless a brave, bold, and noble stab at making a more representative Judge Dredd film adaptation... unfortunately, it'll also be the last one for a very  long time indeed, that is unless Megan Ellison is won over to the Dredd cause and cuts them a $40m cheque to make a (non-stereoscopic) sequel!

Just my humble opinion as it stands...

Mark Kermode is an idiot. His opinion about any film needs to be taken with a planet-sized grain of salt.   Sorry you don't see it for what it truly is.  I stand by everything I've said. It's a perfect film.