Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Dredd'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's an interesting time we live in when it comes to comic book films simply because of the fact that they are able do something that was previously unheard of when it came to cinema...they now have no problem hitting the reset button in order to start the entire story over from scratch.

I say that because, back in the day, when an adaptation of a comic book or a standard book made it to the big screen only to become a complete and utter failure, it was immediately forgotten, never to be spoken of again. Yet somewhere in this era of remakes and reboots, the wild idea came to pass that perhaps a bad comic book story on film should be treated as it is on paper...act is if it was a one off story and get back to the basics of what matters for the franchise. So far it has paid off dividends both financially and creatively and the other day I was able to enjoy another one of these magical reboots when I watched, Dredd.

The world has become a barren wasteland, but mankind soldiers on. What was once a place filled with beautiful countrysides has now transformed into never ending skylines known as Mega Cities. On the East Coast of the United States there is Mega City One, home to 800 million people and with so many human begins crammed into one massive city there is only one way to keep law and order...the Judges. They have the power to be judge, jury and executioner, all in one and the most famous of the Judges, a man named Dredd, is about to face his greatest challenge yet when a drug lord, completely in control of a 200 story building has sealed Dredd and a rookie Judge within its concrete walls and put a price on both of their heads, and their only hope for survival is to remain alive long enough to reach the top of the tower...and pass judgment.  

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It's incredibly hard to watch this film, and not feel your mind instantly drifting to compare it to the last film that featured this character. After all 1995's Judge Dredd was a titanic failure at the box office and the almost cheery future that that film portrayed drew of the ire of hardcore Dredd fans and rightfully so. Mega City One is supposed to be an ugly place, one where its every man for himself and the judges do what they can to maintain a semblance of order, and it is the stark contrast that this film provides that evokes memories of Dredd gone by, because holy cow...this movie is nothing like the original and that's a wonderful thing. 

Gone is the glamour and glitz of a happier and more refined Mega City One. Instead we are given a true dystopia, where people go through the motions in a world that looks a touch similar to our own, in the desperate hopes of finding a sense of normalcy in a dying world and we are even treated to the difficult life the judges have to endure as they deal with the grit of endless city life and the horrors of having to decide the fate of men and women over and over and over. If anything I was blown away by how dark this film turned out to be. It's bleak, powerful and...magnificent, and for the Dredd faithful that had a big time problem with Stallone removing his helmet, fear not...the helmet stays on Karl Urban's head for the entirety of the film.

Yet what truly makes this film so magical and such an incredible watch is that despite the buckets of violence it pours upon you, and the fact that humanity's future more or less appears to be doomed in this story...it's actually a movie filled with hope, because of the film's titular main character. Thankfully, Joseph Dredd is a man who truly believes in something, and he will do anything to set the world right in the name of the law and his dedication to a cause and determination to make the world a better place...somehow leaves you with the feeling that maybe, just maybe...one man can make a difference after all...

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