Review of Dredd (2012) by Drm — 23 Sep 2012

So, I went to check this out yesterday, in glorious 2D. This movie is awesome. Seriously. Somebody finally got it right. This is right up there on the top 5 list of comic movies done correctly. We are spared the tired old cliché of an origin story.

Thank freakin' God. I am so sick of that. The story is a simple one, that begins in medias res, and is basically Clint Eastwood's 'The Enforcer', set in a dystopian near-future. Karl Urban, who I think is one of the better actors of our time, nails the jaded, sometimes cruel, but ultimately justice serving, Dirty Harry-esque archetype.

His character is refreshingly devoid of cornball one-liners, and never strays from his primary motivation. What was also refreshing, is that he keeps his helmet on through the whole movie. When I first heard that Dredd would be partnered up with a woman (Olivia Thirlby), I thought, "Oh no.

...here we go again with some cliché vamp, dressed up in a skin tight catsuit and heels." Thankfully they did not do that. She's in uniform, psychic, and deeply twisted. Damaged goods. This is a real smart move, and it adds a lot to the film.

The violence, and gore, is Robocop level goodness, and much of it is treated in an almost artsy way. The soundtrack is as filthy as the scenery. Lots of distorted break beats, without any cornball attempts at dubstep.

The other really nice touch about the soundtrack, are the drug sequences, which lovingly use the Nick Pittsinger styled 800% slow down filter. This works beautifully. The villain (Lena Headey) is superb.

You really hate her. I haven't left the theater feeling so damn good, in a very long time. What's so sad, is that a lot of people are just gonna sleep on this film due to it's odd release time, the foul taste of the Stallone disaster still lingering in their mouths, and some really unfounded negative reviews.

Do not sleep on this. Go see it. I will definitely buy this on DVD.