Dredd

Dredd lacks dynamism in terms of action, but the grimy postapocalyptic atmosphere and impressive staging make up for it. This movie is not afraid to go its own way, ignore the mainstream and overflow with ideas. Plus it has a great A-list actress as the main badass. It’s like the best installment of Resident Evil, minus all the zombies and monsters. Everything I wanted as a 14-year-old from Blade Runner and failed to get, given my expectations and demands at that age :-) (20/09/2018)

I wasn’t looking forward to it. I don’t know the comics, I didn’t watch the first Judge Dredd, I don’t like this kind of action B-movies, and the trailer was repellent. In short, the ideal position for a movie to surprise me. And it did. It’s brutal, with a dose of exaggeration so perfectly balanced that it doesn’t look cringe, but cool. Everything is properly intense: the visuals, the violence, the dialogues, the actors; everything is over the top, but not too much. Dredd can be considered utter bullshit, and many people will for sure. But for me it’s a distinctive, engaging, intense and purposeful movie without much competition in its sub-genre. (20/12/2012)

If the creators’ goal was to fix Dredd’s movie reputation after the ’95 fiasco, then… It went from bad to worse to the very worst. At least they stayed true to the original. But what good does that do when not even the greatest film talent would be able to create a movie (not to mention a good one) out of a display of unashamed gore and ultra-annoying ultra-slow-motion shots. Let alone a predictable bore like Travis. (20/12/2012)

From start to finish, a sough-after bit of nonsense that unwittingly joins hands with its inept predecessor from the 90s. It is all the more amusing that it strives so hard not to be such an unnecessary addition. And yet Karl Urban goes unused, the attractive Olivia Thirlby has a thankless role as a talented rookie, Lena Headey as the main attraction never steps out of the box of the anonymous antagonist, and the brutal action becomes boring after the third shootout. I don't understand what happened to Alex Garland's creative talent, which he obviously possesses in spades. Most of the time Dredd only hints at its world, showcasing only a few fragments and instead giving far more space to blatantly inaccessible scenes, and slow-motion shots that are, forgive me, plain stupid (without which this movie would have lasted no more than a weak hour). (07/05/2019)

Bloodbath. It really reminded me of The Raid, but without the martial arts. Instead we got neat shooters with all the ammo modifications imaginable (a little and big boy’s dream) and classic fisticuffs... right down somebody’s throat. Urban makes a perfect Dredd, better than Sly in reeling off great lines, commanding greater respect. Lena Headey as Ma-Ma is a decent opponent and the new girl makes for pleasant viewing. Slo-mo was in charge of the visually powerful scenes (evidently low-budget) and the 3D might have looked good if only those bastard distributors had put it on general release. If it doesn’t earn, it doesn’t earn. More bodies for recycling. (25/12/2012)

Formally stylized, it is a bold and confident B-movie, well acted, straightforward enough, with a simple plot outline. Conquering the floors of a mega-building like in The Raid, only in the American way, is a rewarding variation in the action genre. And just when you think it's over, a reference to Blade Runner subtly winks at you. (09/02/2017)

Surprisingly good, but only on the second attempt. The first time I saw Dredd, I couldn't shake the impression for a good half of the film that Karl Urban was wearing a helmet a size too big and that most of what he says sounds wannabe tough/awkward. The second time around, however, all that disappeared and I noticed mainly the film's momentum, how thoughtful and blackly funny it is, how well Dredd and his partner fit together, how perfect Lena Headey is as the villain, and how all the bloody scenes have their reasons and none of them are there just for decoration... A lot of moments will probably become legendary (Dredd coming in, throwing the henchman off the catwalk, and leaving again) and if it's true that there won't be a sequel, then that’s a real shame. The next time I see the film (and it is certain that I will see it), I may very well add a fifth star. (03/04/2014)

It’s basically a sequel of The Raid, an action flick without a solid story skeleton, but in this case, unfortunately, also without amazing fight choreography, without atmosphere and without a likeable protagonist. Karl Urban has had many better roles in his career, and Pete Travis certainly has the chops for more than just a mindless shooter that shows emotions as much as Dredd smiles. The three stars are for the great premise and setting, for the properly bloody action and for the fact that I wasn't bored for even a moment during those 90 minutes. But I don’t need to watch it again. 65% (15/07/2013)

It's hard to find a better subject for a demonstration of the technological advances of high-frequency cameras than a fascist enforcer, where even a guy like Almódovar could have a go at psychology. Which is nicely hinted at, among other things, by the scene where the telepath declares that she feels something like-... and is promptly cut off by her superior, and the film never returns to this theme throughout. Who wants it to, either, when Dredd's means of expression is catered for throughout the running time by his trusty hand cannon, which has a small black hole in the ammunition chamber, so he can mow down an entire house with one handheld multi-function pistol (OBI Fall 2012/Winter 2013 catalogue), which he explains in advance to all the occupants with the courtesy of a civil servant. Then one will forgive even the fact that Karl Urban's helmet is a tad large. Dredd is a cinephilic B-movie, fondling every shot, creating the effectiveness of the action sequences not by editing but by framing the shot, and most importantly a film in which the use of spectacular slow motion is grounded in a narrative structure that is simply revolutionary. And Lena Headey is nipping cruelly at the heels of Batman's Bane as one of this year’s baddies. (06/01/2013)

This is exactly what I needed. A B-grade action flick with a self-aggrandizing loudmouth protagonist partnered with a gorgeous little girl. A supremely satisfying action flick with great slow-motion and a pleasant running time. It must have been freaking awesome in IMAX 3D. Every once in a while I fall in love with a B-movie and feel the need to watch it repeatedly at relatively short intervals. Dredd is exactly one of them. "Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law... Judgement time!" (15/03/2015)