Dredd

Let’s begin by talking a little bit about the title character of the new sci-fi bloodbath, Dredd. Played by Karl Urban, Judge Dredd is a futuristic police officer who acts as judge, jury and executioner in a crime ridden super-city overrun by drugs and strangely tattooed gangs. Then when he and his rookie partner, played by Olivia Thirlby, get trapped in a gang controlled apartment tower, they must confront a dangerous drug lord (Lena Headey) in order to escape. The odds that this film would be good, by any stretch of the word, were slim. Luckily I’d take those odds on a movie any day. So to the theater we go.

Urban plays Dredd in a way that would make the comic book purists proud. The audience doesn’t learn much about the character, but that’s the way he wants it. Among the corrupt, he represents the faceless arm of the law, which is apparently a bad ass, angry arm. Though even with the limitations on the character and the wardrobe, Dredd wears a large helmet that only leaves his mouth and chin visible, Urban carries the film with solid resolve and ideals that the audience can get behind.

The film looks firmly at its heavily stylized violence to keep up the tension. The results are mixed in this aspect. While the waves and waves of expendable henchmen getting mowed down fits with the few versus many premise, instances like a vagrant getting crushed by a heavy door for no reason are just for unnecessary shock value. Plus the use of the Slow Mo drug, which makes the world seem like everything is going really slow, proves a less interesting aesthetic choice the tenth time it’s used. But you can’t blame them for wanting to take advantage of the cool concept. Ultimately, that’s how the movie turns out, cool, if not a bit over-the-top.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.