Review of Dredd (2012) by Buggy B — 03 Dec 2014

Well I couldn't get into this at all. Which was too bad because this is supposed to be a truer rendition than Stallone's fun but cheesy attempt back in 95. Lots to like here in terms of world building, special effects and cool gadgets but completely overshadowed by gratuitous gory violence and endless video game style killings that just go on and on.

Karl Urban is also completely wasted in this role (actually I'm not entirely sure it was ever him) because not only does he never show his face, he barely speaks. In fact his character was so vague that it could have played by any random extra on set, and without including any backstory (for non comic book fans like myself) I felt zero attachment to his plight. I don't know who he is and I don't care if he makes it out of "Peachtree" alive or not.

We just join some futuristic lawman at another day on the job, dispensing his brand of justice as judge, jury and executioner. After venturing into an inner city block tenement housing (to the extreme) with a rookie cop, Dredd incurs the wrath of the ruthless drug lord Ma-Ma (played awesomely by a scarred up Lena Headley) Lots of bad guys die in gory ways, Dredd has a cool voice controlled gun, the future looks bleak. 11/30/14.