Justice! 2012's Dredd

Ahh, Judge Dredd. Jury, executioner, and Judge. A no nonsense guy who will stop at nothing to see justice served the best way as possible. Originally a comic book series, Judge Dredd has gained a cult following over the years. He's been mentioned in other comics, video games and recently Hollywood. In this review, I'm doing the 2012 remake of Dredd, not the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version. First of all, this movie gets right what Stallone's did wrong. This movie doesn't stroke the ego of some lame (personally, I'm not a Stallone fan) action star. It sticks (mostly) to the comic books, though it's a tad bit more serious. The comics are basically political satire, amusing to read, not easily translatable on the silver screen. Let's get to the review!

 

 

Easy there, I'm on your side!

In the future, the world is a nuclear wasteland. Humanity resides in Mega Cities, stretching millions of miles, sheltered from the deadly wastelands. With so many residents, everything is in a Mega something. Mega Blocks (not the toy) Mega Highways, Mega Banks....you get the point. Though this being the future, crime still manages to cling on and ruin everyone's day. In come the Judges, peacekeepers who fight crime and are allowed to give sentences on the spot. For example, you jay walk, a Judge can give you two years in isocubes (aka prison). Enter Judge Dredd. The top Judge. The name itself brings fear to criminals and law abiding citizens alike. He's assigned to assess rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (played by Olivia Thirlby). Anderson failed the Judge test, but the Chief Judge gives her a second chance due to the fact that Anderson's a mutant with psychic abilities. Dredd (played by Karl Urban) is skeptical, but takes Anderson out on assessment. A triple homicide is called in and the Judges go to Peach Trees apartments (a mega block). Turns out the triple homicide leads to something bigger than they thought and the plot thickens! The Ma-ma clan, run by Ma-Ma, produces a fancy new drug known as Slo-Mo and the killings were a warning to other drug lords. (Slo-mo is a narcotic that makes the brain feel like it's moving at 1%.) Dredd and Anderson raid a drug den, taking one of Ma-Ma's lieutenants in for questioning. Ma-Ma gets word of this and locks down Peach Trees using the security control room. She then announces to Peach Trees that she wants the two Judges dead and no one gets out until it happens. Dredd and Anderson now must fight for their lives in order to escape.

After a series of gunfights, punching, Gatling guns, and incendiary rounds, Anderson gets captured by her prisoner. Dredd understandably gets ticked off and goes after Ma-Ma and her gang. Now, there is a pretty cool twist involving crooked Judges and a fight between good and bad Judges. It's pretty intense. Anderson manages to free herself and meet up with Dredd. Then Dredd and Anderson fight their way to the top of Peach Tress to finish Ma-Ma once and for all.

The Good:
The special effects. This movie keeps it simple with the effects and only uses CGI when it's necessary. The scenes when the Slo-Mo drug is used seems to me that they're enhanced with CGI but, it's not cheesy. Also from what I could tell they were the only scenes with CGI. The story's decent too. The writers kept the story simple and it works. Go in, bust bad guy, stay alive, get out. Seriously, that's the plot in a nutshell. No insane plot twists, one location, and simple character roster. The people you're supposed to care about get screen time and the one's who are nameless and get taken out, well, you don't feel anything. And it works. Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. Move over Stallone, Urban's officially Dredd. He's got the iconic scowl down, the gruffy voice, Urban nails it. Olivia Thirlby does well as Anderson too. She grows as a character though the movie and you witness it. She starts out unsure and somewhat passive, then grows into a fully fledged Judge. In the beginning, when Dredd and Anderson are about to bust the drug den, Dredd comments on her not looking ready. Then, towards the end Dredd mentions that she looks ready when they're about to take out Ma-Ma. Anderson's also not some damsel in distress either. She's a badass girl who takes care of herself and that's nice to see in this day of age.  There isn't a whole lot bad to say about this movie.

The Bad:
Ma-Ma. She's not given a whole lot to work with. I mean, I wouldn't want to be living in the same building as her, she's pretty evil. I just wish she was given more back story. She's pretty much a cliche bad guy. To be fair, on the DVD, there is a comic book thingy that explains how she became who she is, but eh..not a whole lot of people are going to watch that. Lena Headey, who plays Ma-Ma does well for what's she given though.

Overall:
Overall, this movie's pretty darn good. It hits the right spots, and doesn't overdo anything. As said before, this movie keeps it simple. The casting for the Judges was spot on. The effects weren't over the top and made it feel more realistic. Hopefully, there will be a sequel and hopefully, they use the same recipe as before. Keeping it simple.

Bonus Round!
Wait, what? Bonus round? I wasn't notified about this! Anyways, this bonus round goes to the Lawgiver! That's the gun Judges use to dispense baddies and do other crime fighting stuff. The movie made the Lawgiver look utra realistic and something that might be used in the future. Look at this thing:   

   That's awesome. Where can I get one?

Score:
4.5 lawgivers out of 5.