Recalling with disappointment the Sylvester Stallone 1995 adventure dud Judge Dredd and recognizing in the preview for this movie a distinct similarity to an earlier action film this year called The Raid: Redemption which really impressed me, I was not expecting much from Dredd 3D (which I saw in 2D). Then I learned, again, that when possible one should leave preconceived ideas behind when entering a dark movie theater, because I found myself enjoying Dredd a great deal.
In a post-apocalyptic future (is there any other kind in modern cinema?) the gigantic metropolis Mega City One is very much like the Old West, where people do whatever the heck they want with only occasional interference from the law. Here, the law is embodied by unemotional Judges, who are trained to interpret the law on the spot, heavily armed to enforce their decision, and empowered to carry out sentence on transgressors immediately. A tough veteran Judge named Dredd (Karl Urban) is assigned a rookie (Olivia Thirlby) to evaluate, and their day takes them to a 200-story high-rise where a triple murder has occurred. A despotic drug dealer (Lena Headey) learns the Judges are in the building, seals it, and publicly orders their deaths before she will allow the building to be reopened.
Like The Raid: Redemption, much of the action takes place in this single building, which is a massive, labyrinthine maze of apartments, hallways, stores, elevators, etc. The Judges must effectively move and hide throughout, all the while toting a prisoner and hoping back-up arrives in time to get them out. The claustrophobic feel works well and Pete Travis’ movie doesn’t flinch from the brutal violence that is necessary for this story, particularly in one sequence where something resembling an old Gatling gun absolutely decimates an area of the building in which the Judges are hiding. Also enhancing the tension is a throbbing, pulsing score by Paul Leonard-Morgan that intensifies the atmosphere without interfering with it.
The heart of the movie is Olivia Thirlby’s performance as Anderson, the prospective Judge with poor test scores who is being considered anyway because of her unique psychic abilities. Thirlby is the most empathetic character in the story (Dredd never removes his helmet and always speaks like a calm Dirty Harry Callahan), because she never wears a helmet and visibly tries to conquer her emotions. She is terrific. Travis has one visual trick that works really well, too. The drug that Headey is making and selling is Slo-Mo, which fools the brain into perceiving time marching by at an incredibly slow rate. Thusly, Travis employs a few POV sequences of how the drug would feel, emphasizing the slowness of time passing and, more importantly, a dazzling, preternatural beauty of minute detail as it does. The first such sequence distracted me, but once I understood it, I found the technique — particularly the way light is manipulated — to be, well, intoxicating.
Dredd lacks logic in places, is quite profane and violent (but necessarily so, I would argue) and is perhaps too imitative for its own good. That said, however, I must admit that I truly appreciate what was put on the screen. One IMDb reviewer titled his review, “As good as it could have been,” and I couldn’t agree more. This isn’t Shakespeare, but it’s a prime example of a movie making the most out of its rather limited scenario. For fans of rugged action and bleak futuristic science-fiction, I definitely recommend it. ☆ ☆ ☆. 7 October 2012.