[movie] Dredd

[farley2k]

So I went to see this and it was ... fine.  I wasn't blown away like I wanted to be based on the reviews.  I guess I expected more action and less depression.  Don't get me wrong I know Megacity isn't a happy place but I guess I need some more lightness in my action flicks.

I also didn't think it was that violent.  Well it was violent but somehow CGI blood splatters, etc. don't shock me as much real stuff (obviously not real but with plastic models, etc.)  I thought the violence in Robocop for example was much greater.

All in all it was ok but I wouldn't buy it or see it again.

[hepcat]

It was fun.  Like most reviewers have stated, it's like a day in the life of Dredd.  By going that route, I think they did the comic book justice.  Stallone's version warped the character of Dredd into a Hollywood version of the comic books, while this version is pretty faithful to the source.  It's not a great movie, but it's a pretty decent Judge Dredd film.  You can see the lack of budget but the director and cinematographer do a pretty good job portraying Mega-City One with what they had.

[Soulchilde]

I like the movie alot.  Sadly, I don't think we will see a big budget sequel as the movie came in 6th for it opening weekend.

[Kurt Stevens]

I saw it this weekend.  I really enjoyed it.  I thought it was pretty faithful to the comic.   It went to a early evening showing and there was only one other person in the theater besides my wife and I.  Doesnt look good for a sequel which is a shame.

[kratz]

I thought it was pretty good.  Not life changing, but better than I expected, even with the good reviews.  And also maybe a little bit not as good as I expected.

I dunno.  I had fun.

[Isgrimnur]

Saw it in 3D, and noticed that the tech has issues with low-light scenes.  It was almost like some of them were looking past a wall of static.

From a film standpoint, it was decent.  I'd say The Raid: Redemption was more brutal, had a higher energy, and a better story.  But if you're a Dredd fanboy, I wouldn't say you'd be disappointed.

[Blackjack]

I'd say The Raid: Redemption was more brutal, had a higher energy, and a better story. 

Oh dear. While I quite enjoyed The Raid: Redemption, imho its story was written on cocktail napkins while sitting in a bar. In fact, what I'm worried about with the U.S. remake is they'll actually try to inject a story into The Raid, instead of just let it be what it is -- rookie superman cop against the world. 

So if Dredd 3D doesn't even have that much of a story, imho, it must not have a story at all. In fact, perhaps it's has "minus story." I don't think that's possible, right? 

Anyway, I'm thinking the cop movie End of Watch is a better bet, and I hope to catch that soon.

[Isgrimnur]

Neither of the leads in Dredd has anything approaching a motivation outside the context of the uniform or continued survival.  The Raid at least made some pretense of having something to look at when the credits rolled.

[pr0ner]

Neither of the leads in Dredd has anything approaching a motivation outside the context of the uniform or continued survival.  The Raid at least made some pretense of having something to look at when the credits rolled.

Did you forget what Anderson said to Dredd when he asked her why she wanted to be a judge?

[Isgrimnur]

Fair enough. She gets some back story, but neither of them appear to have much in the way of even medium-term future goals.

[hepcat]

They're judges.  They've been raised since childhood with only one driving purpose:  justice.  That's their short, medium and long term goals.  Period.  

Dredd is an even more extreme case of this. Anderson has at least somewhat of a back story about why she is who she is.  But this isn't Stallone's Judge Dredd that sees our hero on a spiritual journey to discover his lost humanity.  This is Judge F'ing Dredd.  He is the law. He's more a force of nature than a man, to be honest.  If you view that as a fault, then you're most likely not a fan of the comic book.   

Spoiler for Hiden:

If anything, I found the corrupt judges to be a weak spot in the film.  One, maybe.  but four corrupt judges?  

[Turtle]

Saw it in 3D unfortunately. Way too many "look, it's 3D!" moments.

But overall a good action movie that I'd love to see more of.

[Blackjack]

While I still hope to see it, the North American box office was apparently catastrophically awful (even for a relatively modest $50M budget). A $6.3M weekend just doesn't bode well. Foreign box office is forgiving (esp. for FX-driven movies), but it's too early to tell if that'll keep it from being a box office disaster.

[Bullwinkle]

Dredd has no traction here.  It's a subset of a subgroup of fandom, really.  If anyone in the US general pop knows of Judge Dredd at all, it's because of the awful Stallone/Rob Scheider movie (which is a combination that shouldn't exist to begin with).

[USMC Kato]

Just rented Dredd, I thought it was so good that I went out to Best Buy to purchase a blu ray copy. It is truly unfortunate this movie didn't do well.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Sounds like I'm gushing, but this is what I love about this film:
1. Pulls no punches depicting violence
2. Karl Urban's performance. No nonsense, voice was perfect for Dredd. He moves like a trained killer would, with complete confidence and most importantly the will to kill.
3. Simple but effective plot and premise.

[Soulchilde]

Just rented Dredd, I thought it was so good that I went out to Best Buy to purchase a blu ray copy. It is truly unfortunate this movie didn't do well.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Sounds like I'm gushing, but this is what I love about this film:
1. Pulls no punches depicting violence
2. Karl Urban's performance. No nonsense, voice was perfect for Dredd. He moves like a trained killer would, with complete confidence and most importantly the will to kill.
3. Simple but effective plot and premise.

Very good movie and I own the blu ray as well

[MonkeyFinger]

I redbox'd this on the way home last night and enjoyed it as well. From what I recall (and from the extras in the disk) it was pretty darn faithful to the source material. Karl did the Dredd Scowl proud. 

Makes me want to dig the boardgame out of the basement and give it a spin again.

[Purge]

I don't know I kind of liked Sandra Bullock in the original Judge Dredd. It's amazing after so many years she still looks so good.

Uh, her face looks a little... Bradley Cooper ... make those eyes blue and add stubble.

[CeeKay]

Dredd has no traction here.  It's a subset of a subgroup of fandom, really.  If anyone in the US general pop knows of Judge Dredd at all, it's because of the awful Stallone/Rob Scheider movie (which is a combination that shouldn't exist to begin with).

aw, c'mon, without that movie people would look at me funny when I shout out 'I AM DA LAW!!'...

[USMC Kato]

Also Dredd's gruff voice kicks defeats Nolan's Batman easily.

[MonkeyFinger]

Dredd has no traction here.  It's a subset of a subgroup of fandom, really.  If anyone in the US general pop knows of Judge Dredd at all, it's because of the awful Stallone/Rob Scheider movie (which is a combination that shouldn't exist to begin with).

aw, c'mon, without that movie people would look at me funny when I shout out 'I AM DA LAW!!'...

... out of one side of your mouth.

[Purge]

It reminded me of Raid : Redemption. That isn't a bad thing either.

[EngineNo9]

Yeah, possibly because I watched The Raid first, but I thought it did a better version of the same thing. 

[CeeKay]

Dredd has no traction here.  It's a subset of a subgroup of fandom, really.  If anyone in the US general pop knows of Judge Dredd at all, it's because of the awful Stallone/Rob Scheider movie (which is a combination that shouldn't exist to begin with).

aw, c'mon, without that movie people would look at me funny when I shout out 'I AM DA LAW!!'...

... out of one side of your mouth.

of course!

[spigot]

Just saw this last night. I enjoyed it and The Raid: Redemption equally.

[leo8877]

Rented this last night and I liked it.  Urban was good in the lead role.  It was pretty violent though, so watch out if you don't like that kind of thing.

[Purge]

Rented this last night and I liked it.  Urban was good in the lead role.  It was pretty violent though, so watch out if you don't like that kind of thing.

Spoiler for Hiden:

A vulcan cannon indoors, shooting through apartments? Yeah, a little.

[CeeKay]

missed this in the theater, but it sounds like it may be a safe blind purchase.

[Dante Rising]

Just rented Dredd, I thought it was so good that I went out to Best Buy to purchase a blu ray copy. It is truly unfortunate this movie didn't do well.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Sounds like I'm gushing, but this is what I love about this film:
1. Pulls no punches depicting violence
2. Karl Urban's performance. No nonsense, voice was perfect for Dredd. He moves like a trained killer would, with complete confidence and most importantly the will to kill.
3. Simple but effective plot and premise.

I did the exact same thing! I watched Total Recall and Dredd this morning. I was quite surprised with how good Dredd turned out to be, as I expected something truly low brow and low budget. grabbed the Blu ray off Amazon. the actor who played Dredd did an excellent job- much less forced than Stallone's version. it seemed like Stallone was trying too hard to be a badass. This guy just came across as one immediately.