DREDD (2012) THE FRANCHISE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN. MOVIE REVIEW

Box office flop.

Dredd is a cult movie. Bluntly and straight to the point. Unfortunately, it is. And I say this since if there had not been a series of unfortunate events at the time of its premiere, we probably could have enjoyed a series of movies, a franchise. But as Karl Urban said, who plays Dredd, a character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra in the pages of the English comic «2000 AD» «… the fundamental problem is that was not one knew it was being released.» The excellent sales of the film on DVD and Blue-ray that subsequently occurred once the public discovered it has not been enough to encourage the producers for a sequel. And this is a shame.

Dredd is a wild, violent, straightforward action film, made with the utmost respect for the character’s fans showing an accurate portrayal of the source, beginning with a commanding performance from Karl Urban, as the grim and rough Judge Dredd. A committed Urban did not break character between scenes, to the dismay of many of his companions on set.

Faithful adaptation of the comic.

In a future devastated by war, all the remaining population lives crammed into one megacity. Social problems and criminality abound. Because of this, Judges figures emerge. These Judges serve as police, judges, and executioners to make justice more expeditious. Judge Dredd and judge-in-training Anderson respond to the call for murders in a mega residential building.

The director Pete Travis, (or Alex Garland since it is been rumored that the latter shoot many scenes due to some creative difference with the producers) knew how to take advantage of this confinement, giving in his shots a correct sense of space and with this ensuring that the action sequences are well-coordinated and achieved. Originally made for 3D screens, where they take advantage of this situation to the maximum thanks to the SLO-MO drug, which makes the perception of time go in slow motion for those who consume it, achieving scenes in which the fans of gore can enjoy it in all its glorious extreme violence. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

Great cast all around.

Lenna Hadley is a delight as the cruel Ma-Ma, leader of the criminal cartel that rules the building despite that sometimes it just feels like a recharged Cersei Lannister. Olivia Thirlby plays Judge Anderson, who is the only character who gives the film full of unpleasant figures a touch of humanity. She is also to note a young Domhall Gleeson as the tortured techie of the clan.

Colorful cinematography.

Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography shows a dirty and degraded future, inspired by «Blade Runner» (Ridley Scott, 1982), with good use of multiple colors, clear and dark. Denote the recurrent use of yellow objects in many scenes of the film. This color has an ambiguous representation since although it can refer to innocence, in this context, it is madness and obsession. Besides that, it gives excellent contrast to the scene

The script by Alex Garland, who also wrote 28 days later, has no rest. It always goes ahead and forward, also being unpretentious in his dialogs. Adequately pairing all this with an aggressive techno soundtrack.

Trivia:
Karl Urban did not take the helmet off on the whole film to stay true to the character unlike the previous Dredd-related film, the failed «Judge Dredd» (Danny Cannon, 1995) starring Sylvester Stallone.

DELIRIUM SCORE