Movie #22: Dredd

Welcome to Sci-Fi 100! 
100 Sci-Fi movies in 100 days!

*** NO SPOILERS. ***
"Dredd" is a sci-fi / action film starring Karl urban, Olivia Thirby, and Lena Headey. 

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd and Olivia Thirby as a trainee

It's based off the '80s comic book character Judge Dredd. 

How Judge Dredd looked in the comic books

The premise of the story is that in the dystopian future, the United States is pretty much a wasteland. There is high crime and the remains of the cities are over- filled with the homeless, gangs, drug dealers, and people just trying to survive. There is hope though... there is some justice left... the futuristic police force known as the"Judges." They are special cops who have instant field judiciary powers... they are judge, jury and executioner. If they judge you guilty of a crime, and the penalty for that crime is death, they can execute you on the spot. No courts, no lawyers, no overcrowded jails. Thy take care of business. 

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd int he 2012 film

Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd in the 1995 film

They are the law. Judge Dredd is the most famous and most feared of all the Judges. Karl Urban plays Judge Dredd in this new film, but in 1995... Sylvester Stallone stepped into the characters boots in the film "Judge Dredd" which also starred Diane Lane and Rob Schneider. Schneider was put in there for comic relief. The new film doesn't have such a character. It is a lot darker and more violent than the first movie. 

     Click the box above to watch the trailer for the new film

Poster from the 1995 Stallone film

The plot of the new movie, which can be seen on the trailer, is... Judge Dredd has to team up with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug called Slo-Mo.
Without giving spoilers, all I can say about this movie is that it's good. It's a solid film with a great cast, great action, great special effects, great props & wardrobe, and lots of things go boom! I can see this turning into a franchise with many more movies or being a great idea for a weekly TV series.
Go check it out while it's still in theaters so you can experience it on the big screen.

Click the box above to watch the trailer for the Stallone version

The Stallone version looks way cooler... in a cheesier kind of way. I haven't seen it in a while. I noticed it came out on Blu-ray this week. It would be a perfect movie to review at a later blog.


- Patrick Shawn Bennett
Broadcasting from the wastelands of future America.

xxx