Dredd 3D Movie Review

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Sep 24th, 2012 in Action Adventure, Fantasy, New Releases, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 0 comments

Dredd 3D Movie Review

Dredd 3D came out last September 21st 2012 in theatres and it certainly appealed to fans of Judge Dredd in comic books. Dredd 3D is directed by Pete Travis and stars Karl Urban as Judge Dredd in a futuristic America where everything turns into a waste land. A place where criminals are now the kings of the street and a new substance rules every person. The “Judges” are the only hope of the urban cops; they possess the powers of a judge, jury and even executioner. Dredd is the ultimate Judge who makes it his life-long mission to rid the city of these dangerous criminals. Let’s take a look at the movie review provided to us by Sean O’Connell for Dredd 3D:

“Dredd 3D: A Movie For Fans To Judge

Good news, Judge Dredd fans. Pete Travis’s savage interpretation of John Wagner’s futuristic law enforcer adheres to the character’s grim graphic-novel roots and proves far superior to the corny misfire attempted by Sylvester Stallone back in 1995.

This, finally, is the Dredd movie comic book readers have been anticipating.

Dreadful news, Dredd fans. If you also caught Gareth Evans’s like-minded Indonesian thriller “The Raid: Redemption” earlier this year, then “Dredd 3D” will strike you as derivative. Through no fault of Travis and his crew, the two movies follow near-identical blueprints (even though each filmed around the same time in separate locations). “The Raid” simply beat “Dredd” to theaters, stealing a bit of its thunder. They’re so similar, in fact, that Sony and Screen Gems could pull the plug on the American “Raid’ remake they currently have in the works, because it already exists and is opening under the name “Dredd 3D.”

Solemn Karl Urban (Bones in J.J. Abrams’s “Star Trek” reboot) dons the trademark helmet and motorcycle boots of Dredd, a ruthless judge presiding over the decaying, post-apocalyptic metropolis of Mega-City One. Two events complicate Dredd’s unremitting mission to clean up his streets. First, he’s saddled with a rookie partner (Olivia Thirlby) who’s bound to slow him down. Second, the duo is assigned to investigate an incident at Peach Trees, a towering apartment complex run by crazed drug dealer Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).

Ma-Ma manufactures and peddles SLO-MO, an illegal substance that does exactly what you’d imagine to an abuser’s brain. The drug’s chemical effect prompts Travis to employ slow-motion visual technology and exhilarating bullet-time effects in his multiple action sequences, which kick into graphic high gear once Dredd starts mowing down the opposition.

And here’s where the comparisons to “The Raid” become unavoidable. After Travis establishes Dredd as a take-no-prisoners law enforcer, the movie’s goal is to have our hero march from the ground floor of Peach Trees to Ma-Ma’s penthouse, eliminating waves of well-armed criminals in the process. Unlike “The Raid,” which dispensed of its antagonists through gracefully choreographed combat dances, “Dredd 3D” opts for satisfyingly bone-crunching brutality. Have you ever wondered what a bullet looks like as it travels through facial flesh? Because “Dredd” is going to show you.”

To continue reading the rest of the review, click here to go to Washington Post

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Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.