Review of Dredd (2012) by Michael I — 08 Jul 2014

When I first was told about this film I was promised several things: I was told there would be tons of violence -- there was; I was told there would great music -- yes, there was plenty of that too; I was also told it would be a million times better than the god awful first attempt at a film adaptation of the "Judge Dredd" comic strip that was the 1995 film by the same name -- yup, but more like a trillion times better.

One thing I was not told however was just how uncharacteristically feministic this story would be. For a genre (action films) which is so often categorized as being "guy movies", this film has two of the strongest female characters I've seen in a long time.

First, is the ever intimidating Lena Headey in the role of the film's main antagonist, Ma-Ma: Ma-Ma is a wonderful villain, not only that but she's a refreshing turn from the stereotypical 'evil seductress' female villains that are commonly used to save writers the trouble of developing a female character (god forbid that should ever happen in an action movie), but Ma-Ma isn't simply a better female villain, she's a damn frightening one. In a scene where most villains would badger their lackeys with death threats, Ma-Ma just stares with dead eyes at her follower until he is frightened into getting the job done. Ma-Ma's gang doesn't follow her simply out of respect, they are afraid her, and that is a mark of a well-written villain.

Second, is the completely absorbing performance by Olivia Thirlby as the telepathic judge-in-training Cassandra Anderson: Judge Anderson is the sidekick/apprentice character to Karl Urban's Dredd, and she fits the part well. While the tough-as-nails Dredd warns her of the unpredictability and dangers of a dystopian society overrun with crime and death, Anderson becomes the bridge between the audience and her reality, giving us a sympathetic and remorseful point-of-view in stark contrast to Dredd and his pessimistic sense of pseudo-nihilism and macho-badassery. Very much able to hold her own and carry the plot on her shoulders like it was a backpack, in many ways Judge Anderson is the real main protagonist and Dredd (despite his eponymous name) is the enigmatic supporting character and mentor to our young heroine.

Now of course it's true that in terms of the representation of equality this film is hardly perfect -- as shown in the form of a constant compromise of importance between the two lead characters: Anderson as a rule gets all the character-development, while Dredd gets all the best lines; Anderson gets to be the hero of the day, while Dredd alone gets to fight the villain in the end; and lastly, Anderson is a more relate-able and likable character, but ultimately, Dredd gets the whole movie named after him... and I guess that makes all the difference.

In spite of all this, "Dredd" gives us a rare and distinct show of mature and more realistic female characters and not many action movies do that well enough unfortunately.