Review of Dredd (2012) by Carlos V — 31 May 2014

Urban's portrayal of Dredd is the highlight here and the whole affair feels true to the character and the ethos around him from his surroundings to his gun- this film feels genuine and real, making it a successful re-boot. However, the script ultimately left me wanting more- many of the more interesting elements seem lost in the end to the shoot em up style of the film and it all felt a little too introductory and shallow to me- this one puts its feet in the water but it doesn't dive right in. Nonetheless, its style and enthusiasm prevents the relatively mundane and by-the-book script from stopping this from being a fun action flick.

Firstly, I saw this in 2D rather than 3D but it was still clear how the 3D would have aided the film in this instance- Dredd wasn't just following a trend by going down that road, it really seems to try and add something new to the technology. The films looks great in 2D and the slo-mo action scenes make for a cool (if slightly disturbing), fresh look at, um, violence.

The cast all perform well and hopefully Urban will get another chance to shoot things whilst grimacing menacingly and overall, it's clear that a lot of talented people were involved in this film thus making it a re-boot that actually respects its franchise (well isn't that something, eh?).

However, it feels streamlined at times as the plot often feels lazy particularly with how it uses Anderson's ability to resolve pretty much everything or has the villains just be plain stupid at times. We also don't really get to see much of the post-apocalyptic city that Dredd s surrounded by- indeed, I like the main premise of trapping him in a specific block, but it was hard not to feel a little cheated when it becomes clear that the earlier stages of the film are all that we'll get to see of the dystopian future.

The satirical elements of the franchise also seem glossed over with only the occasional joke here and there- nothing that you wouldn't find in any other action film really, and that's definitely disappointing considering how much effort clearly went in to actually recreating the character of Dredd.

It still works as a shoot em up and there's the occasional cool moment that stops things from becoming bland (that is, assuming you eventually get bored of bullets and stuff- you might not) but the story lacks any depth and that needn't be the case. Sure- it's an action film, do we really need character development!? Probably not but the Dredd universe allows for that mix of brains on the wall and then brains in the story too and I only seemed to spot the first of those here.

The interesting stylistic elements almost feel like an attempt to make up for the fact that Dredd follows the same tired action-movie framework and they thus lose some of their effectiveness. The script, at times, shows something a little more exciting and impactful but it never really steps up to the mark. It all feels anti-climactic when all is said and done and the whole plot seemed to feel like time-wasting between the bullets. This would be fine if the film seemed fully-committed to the brutality but it does seem to want offer more, just without putting much thought into how.

How Anderson deals with her powers for example is clumsily used for one or two scenes that serve only to make the bad guy more bad rather than to actually show us anything about her character. Dredd's commitment to his black and white approach to the law is also overlooked- even though the story includes corrupt Judges, they again just serve as mindless baddies who want to shoot the goodies.

Dredd is still a good re-boot of a deserving franchise and it does what an action film should but, aside from some interesting stylistic choices, it doesn't do enough to blow me away. This was always meant to serve as a first instalment, however, and the proposed sequel, which would look at the origins of Dredd and Mega-City One, sounds like it could well address the issues that I've covered here so let's hope it actually happens!