Is it true to the comics? I personally haven't read any of the comics, but I have read a lot of the wiki a few months back, and Judge Dredd intrigues me very much, he, to me at least, is the ultimate bad ass. I hate that term, but he just seems to be. I love the Mega-City One atmosphere. Judge Dredd is an interesting and cool character I think; he's almost kind of like Solid Snake in a few ways I believe, and the aspect about the way the comics are presented, like how every year that passes, a year passes in the comics, so Dredd and all other characters get older by real time, and at some point, Dredd will have to die, unless he somehow gets something to make him live forever. For someone that hasn't read any of the comics, Judge Dredd really intrigues me for the most part.

Now, about the film, there were a lot of people saying it was awesome, but to me, the trailer from the get-go made me think it looked like a high quality fan-made movie, which isn't necessarily ideal, and while I think Karl Urban has been in some fine movies and played good characters (Star Trek), to me he just doesn't justify playing Dredd from the physical side; performance aside, Stallone wore the helmet more attuned to Dredd, with the strong jaw and all, though he took it off, and that's not Dredd at all. I don't know, how was it? And as I asked before, how true is it to the comic? I'm currently using this as my desktop wallpaper, but I cropped it so it doesn't look exactly the same. I will say that Karl Urban does at least frown the way Dredd does. Maybe Urban does fit the Dredd look more than Stallone as I look at it in Google images, but still.

Furthermore, are there even any fans of Judge Dredd here? Have you read any of the comics? I guess that should have been one of my first questions, ha ha. Oh well.

It's a really good movie that actually had decent 3D effects. Shame noone went to see it though.

I liked the movie, it's kind of basic and doesn't tell you a whole lot but just enough to justify the events.

@NTM said:

Is it true to the comics? I personally haven't read any of the comics, but I have read a lot of the wiki a few months back, and Judge Dredd intrigues me very much, he, to me at least, is the ultimate bad ass. I hate that term, but he just seems to be. I love the Mega-City One atmosphere. Judge Dredd is an interesting and cool character I think; he's almost kind of like Solid Snake in a few ways I believe, and the aspect about the way the comics are presented, like how every year that passes, a year passes in the comics, so Dredd and all other characters get older by real time, and at some point, Dredd will have to die, unless he somehow gets something to make him live forever. For someone that hasn't read any of the comics, Judge Dredd really intrigues me for the most part.

Now, about the film, there were a lot of people saying it was awesome, but to me, the trailer from the get-go made me think it looked like a high quality fan-made movie, which isn't necessarily ideal, and while I think Karl Urban has been in some fine movies and played good characters (Star Trek), to me he just doesn't justify playing Dredd from the physical side; performance aside, Stallone wore the helmet more attuned to Dredd, with the strong jaw and all, though he took it off, and that's not Dredd at all. I don't know, how was it? And as I asked before, how true is it to the comic? I'm currently using this as my desktop wallpaper, but I cropped it so it doesn't look exactly the same. I will say that Karl Urban does at least frown the way Dredd does. Maybe Urban does fit the Dredd look more than Stallone as I look at it in Google images, but still.

Furthermore, are there even any fans of Judge Dredd here? Have you read any of the comics? I guess that should have been one of my first questions, ha ha. Oh well.

It's great! Way more true to the comics than the Stallone one. I was really surprised by how good it was. Go see it!

@TaliciaDragonsong: So it doesn't really explore what the comics story is, and it's basically its own thing with whatever surrounding it? For instance, does it ever go into a tangent and talk about the variety and names of different criminal groups in the city? Or is it just focused on one thing? I think there's a lot of great stuff in Judge Dredd that it'd be disappointing for a film based of of it not to explore the bigger themes that the comics have. I'd at least hope for some cool vistas showing the exteriors of the world and stuff like that, but from the trailers, it seems like it only shows a bit of that, and then the rest is in that building.

It is. It has no right to be as good as it is but it's great.

@Rasmoss said:

@NTM said:

Is it true to the comics? I personally haven't read any of the comics, but I have read a lot of the wiki a few months back, and Judge Dredd intrigues me very much, he, to me at least, is the ultimate bad ass. I hate that term, but he just seems to be. I love the Mega-City One atmosphere. Judge Dredd is an interesting and cool character I think; he's almost kind of like Solid Snake in a few ways I believe, and the aspect about the way the comics are presented, like how every year that passes, a year passes in the comics, so Dredd and all other characters get older by real time, and at some point, Dredd will have to die, unless he somehow gets something to make him live forever. For someone that hasn't read any of the comics, Judge Dredd really intrigues me for the most part.

Now, about the film, there were a lot of people saying it was awesome, but to me, the trailer from the get-go made me think it looked like a high quality fan-made movie, which isn't necessarily ideal, and while I think Karl Urban has been in some fine movies and played good characters (Star Trek), to me he just doesn't justify playing Dredd from the physical side; performance aside, Stallone wore the helmet more attuned to Dredd, with the strong jaw and all, though he took it off, and that's not Dredd at all. I don't know, how was it? And as I asked before, how true is it to the comic? I'm currently using this as my desktop wallpaper, but I cropped it so it doesn't look exactly the same. I will say that Karl Urban does at least frown the way Dredd does. Maybe Urban does fit the Dredd look more than Stallone as I look at it in Google images, but still.

Furthermore, are there even any fans of Judge Dredd here? Have you read any of the comics? I guess that should have been one of my first questions, ha ha. Oh well.

It's great! Way more true to the comics than the Stallone one. I was really surprised by how good it was. Go see it!

Ha ha, I'm sure it is truer than the Stallone movie; doesn't make it a good film though, but it's nice that you enjoyed it. Hopefully when I see it I will too. Is it out on Blu-ray yet? I don't even know! Ha ha.

@MariachiMacabre: Why would you say that?

It's so fucking good. So, so, so fucking good.

I saw it. It was so good. You should probably see it too.

@HistoryInRust: @SotoSaki: Can you please elaborate, if only a little? I'm glad that you enjoyed it, but what's the reason?

It's really fucking good, It's kinda like The Raid but more guns and less hand to hand.

Its a good movie. The film takes place at one building the whole movie but it hints at sooooo much more going on that I would love to see everything else in Mega City. All the gangs they mention look bad ass, but it's like a day in the life of Dredd which always seems to be a tough ride through hell haha

Really good! Not a lot of vistas but there's a few and the greater story doesn't really get addressed. Is just a day in the life of the dredd with a rookie. Couldn't do too much because it had a small budget!

Why not watch it, and then all your questions will be answered :)

I think it is pretty good for what they were able to achieve on a tight budget. It doesn't get too much into the lore of the comics, but I think it did well enough for a bigger and better sequel to explore those areas in the future.

@NTM said:

@HistoryInRust: @SotoSaki: Can you please elaborate, if only a little? I'm glad that you enjoyed it, but what's the reason?

Sure!

I don't have any familiarity with the comics. All I knew about Judge Dredd was that the Stallone movie was fucking dumb and that it had no intent to represent the comics.

Dredd, on the other hand, is like Die Hard. It's a vertical slice of a day in the life of this dude who has nothing on his mind but his work. Dredd himself doesn't have much of an arc, but that's totally fine because the new recruit--played by Olivia Thirlby--functions as a window for the audience to see this amazing, violent, stark dystopian world.

The action is pretty fantastic all around, but the film really hits a homerun with its psychotic devotion to tone (a brutal, unflinching, darkly humorous perspective), its incredible soundtrack, and a fantastic plot device-turned-cinematic effect called "Slo-Mo." It's a drug the lowlifes in the film peddle, the effects of which cause the users to experience the world as though seconds go by in minutes. Dredd displays this drug's effects in a way that makes these horrific moments of violence almost erotic, almost mystic. It's fucking fascinating from an audio-visual aspect. A real trip, to stick in one bad pun.

So, the thing I liked most about it: It didn't go out of its way to show us the entirety of the universe. In fact, it barely shows any of the universe. The whole movie takes place in one building. It's not some Batman-esque plot about some dude saving the world from a catastrophic plot. It's just Dredd doing his job. But by going with this less-is-more philosophy, the filmmakers (including writer Alex Garland, who I abso-fucking-lutely adore) make the world seem more sprawling, more dense. If every nook of this world is as bustling as this one situation, then holy moly, this is a place that truly, nightmarishly, never sleeps.

TL;DR -- Great style. Looks, sounds, feels amazing. Lots of fun, gratuitous violence cinematized in an interesting way. A cool universe I'd like to experience over and over. Also, it's pretty short. So it lends itself to repeated viewings.

It's fucking excellent.

It's the best movie I saw in 2012.

While I don't know anything about the comics except for the most basic outline of the fiction, I can say that this movie is goddamn fantastic. Even though there's not really much action, the whole thing just has a great feel and tone to it from beginning to end. It's got some really excellent scenes with entertaining dialogue, and it's super violent in parts. It's really just a great piece of sci-fi cinema. Plus I love that grimace that Karl Urban has on his face the whole time. Perfect.

As someone who has read the ENTIRE run of 2000AD(the comic which Judge Dredd is found), which is approaching 2000 issues at this point(been running since 1977) I can say without a shadow of a doubt: Dredd is a truer Judge Dredd film than that piece of shit Stalone film ever was.

It doesn't get as absurd as I wanted it too, and isn't enough of a social commentary that the comic is, but it is enough of one that I could appreciate it on those grounds. Even if it never approaches the Tarantino levels of absurdity you would want out of the film, it's still good. Not great, good.

It's better than Citizen Kane.

@NTM said:

@TaliciaDragonsong: So it doesn't really explore what the comics story is, and it's basically its own thing with whatever surrounding it? For instance, does it ever go into a tangent and talk about the variety and names of different criminal groups in the city? Or is it just focused on one thing? I think there's a lot of great stuff in Judge Dredd that it'd be disappointing for a film based of of it not to explore the bigger themes that the comics have. I'd at least hope for some cool vistas showing the exteriors of the world and stuff like that, but from the trailers, it seems like it only shows a bit of that, and then the rest is in that building.

You're describing what the writers wanted to do with a second and third film, but those probably aren't happening due to the poor box office performance, even though it was critically acclaimed. Also yes, Dredd is amazing. Amazing.

It's an excellent introduction to the character, but maybe not the world. Urban IS Dredd (I think that's a quote on one of the promotional posters and it's completely true), and you'll enjoy it just for that I think :). I knew going into it that it would be cutting some corners in-terms of scope, but my understanding of Judge Dredd is that the stories were always about the characters from Mega City One, not the city itself. It certainly doesn't feel any less Dredd-like without robots and mutants.

It's most definitely a great action movie on it's own, but it's equally an introduction to Judge Dredd as well. It does fall a little flat on some of the characters around him, (Anderson is okay but not much more than a generic sidekick 90% of the time) and they could have gone a little wilder with the antagonists, though all the performances are top notch.

With that said, the movie is about Dredd, you get a bunch of Dredd, and there's no shortage of Dredd in some gnarly Robocop-meets-Cobra type scenarios with some seriously tremendous line delivery (thanks, Urban). Speaking of which, the soundtrack is just as gritty sci-fi delicious as the movie

@mazik765: Because I'd rather ask first.

@thabigred: Thanks, that's the kind of answer I wanted, and that's what I expected from this film.

@KittyVonDoom: Yeah, I've listened to the entire soundtrack, it was alright (in a good way). And yes, it has always been about the characters, but I still really like the look of the city from what I've seen in the comics from Google; my point wasn't to say if it was about the city or not.

It's really good. It's got action up the ass, and it has subtle character work that actually makes the film click. And it doesn't shy away from the fact that the Judges are facisim incarnate, but it also doesn't push that down your throat. It is effective world building, with a well told character arc, and action is in the house.

Also Avon Barksdale stars as FUTURE AVON BARKSDALE.

I give this movie 5/5 teeth getting shot out of a dude's face in slow-motion.

I think the movie is good but not great.

Action and plot was certainly enjoyable but not really remarkable either. I suppose some of the "Slow-Mo" scenes are nice on the eye but that's just it.

I'd certainly watch a sequel though and it's unfortunate to see this movie bombing that bad :/

It's not a bad movie, but I didn't see what all the fuss was about.

@MariachiMacabre: Why would you say that?

In a year of strong movies it was honestly my favorite. I kind of like the first one too though, so take any opinion I ever express with a grain of salt.

I'm not familiar with the comics but as a fan of the medium myself, I can safely say that Dredd is a pure comic book movie. Even more than the recent Batman movies. There are too many things to mention but one of the things I love about Dredd is that the movie has this old-school feel to it; the music, the cinematography, the primitive graphics used in the computer screens, the minimum usage of CG (except for the slo-mo bit), and the fact that Dredd never takes his helmet off. It's as if the movie was made in the early 90s and it became a lost film until recently, somebody uncovered it. The blood and gore can be excessive at times but it seems appropriate since the film takes place in a dystopian future with thugs and crooks taking over major parts of the city.

Dredd may be all action and less on story but somehow, it works well. John Wagner, the co-creator of Judge Dredd, hated the Stallone adaptation but absolutely loved this 2012 version. That says it all. Go and watch it now.

@Giantstalker said:

It's the best movie I saw in 2012.

Same here.

Yeah, its a very good ultra-violent action flick with great visuals and cinematography. One of my favorite movies from 2012.

@MariachiMacabre: Yeah, that's what I was concerned about, so it's nice to read that it's actually better than what you initially thought it would be.

@Psykhophear: Yeah, I'm glad Dredd doesn't take his helmet off, he's not supposed to; never has in the comic.

I am glad you made this thread.

I enjoyed it a lot, even if it pretty much took the story of The Raid: Redemtpion and threw Judge Dredd in. I'm really disappointed it didn't do better, as I think they could have really shined in a sequel.

I enjoyed it. It has that 80's action movie feel, like Robocop. It's super violent and crazy almost all the way through. You can tell it has a low budget but I never found it distracting like I have with other low budget films.

I realized today, well before seeing this thread, that I still haven't seen this movie and need to rectify that. Not to mention that a week or two ago I saw the Raid for the first time, and hearing that Dredd is that plus scifi-ishness, makes me want to see Dredd even more.

@NTM: That's what makes the movie great. Seeing Dredd with the helmet on the whole time adds a lot of ambiguity, mystery and cunningness. If only they can do the same to Batman as well. Although in the comics we do see a lot of him unmasked but I would love to see 90% Batman and 10% Bruce Wayne in the next Batman film.

Anyway, Karl Urban was amazing as Dredd. Love that infamous grimace on his face and the low, hush voice.

"Ma-Ma's not the law...I am the law!"

- Judge Dredd

Fuck yeah, it's a good film!

@Eujin said:

I enjoyed it a lot, even if it pretty much took the story of The Raid: Redemtpion and threw Judge Dredd in. I'm really disappointed it didn't do better, as I think they could have really shined in a sequel.

The films were produced in the same span of months. I don't think you're implying Dredd plagiarized The Raid, but some people have tried to make that claim, and it's patently false. An unfortunate coincidence, since the similarities are so stark.

@Psykhophear: That moment gave me chills.

@Psykhophear said:

@NTM: That's what makes the movie great. Seeing Dredd with the helmet on the whole time adds a lot of ambiguity, mystery and cunningness. If only they can do the same to Batman as well. Although in the comics we do see a lot of him unmasked but I would love to see 90% Batman and 10% Bruce Wayne in the next Batman film.

Anyway, Karl Urban was amazing as Dredd. Love that infamous grimace on his face and the low, hush voice.

"Ma-Ma's not the law...I am the law!"

- Judge Dredd

Well, there's a reason why you should see Bruce Wayne, and Nolan tried to make it so you cared for Bruce Wayne, and hoped that the audience wouldn't just look at their clock thinking "Alright, where's Batman?" I still understand what you mean though, but Batman is Batman, Dredd is Dredd; with that said, here's this.

@NTM: Yeah, Bruce Wayne does play an important role in the long run but it would be neat to see a Batman movie like Dredd, just without the blood, cussing and stuff.

That's an awesome artwork! Reminds me of the X-ray move in Mortal Kombat. Which comic is this from? Oh wait, nevermind. It's Judgement on Gotham. I need to get this comic right away!

@Psykhophear: I'm not entirely sure, but it's one of the Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers. I have one last one so it's not excessive, but I'm guessing by the art work, it's the same one. I don't care for the art myself since it looks a bit grungy, but it's still neat. If you go to Google, you can see for yourself.

@NTM: I wish you the best, but I think reading this thread will hurt your enjoyment of the movie. I just watched it a few days ago and loved it as well, but I went into it with the expectations that it was going to be a bad movie with some neat visuals and action scenes to make it worth an hour and a half of my time. The fact that it ended up being better was such a surprise that it amplified my enjoyment for the movie. I have never read the comics, looking into reading some now though, but if you just take it for it's own thing it's a really good movie and I hope that it does well enough after the fact that the people who made it get a chance to do more. I would love to see this turn into a HBO style mini series.

@HistoryInRust: Actually, Dredd was in production (including filming) about 8 months before The Raid. The Raid's filiming only took it 4 months, though, as there was nearly no effects outside of practical effects.

That being said, and to clarify, I don't think Dredd stole anything. I think both Dredd and The Raid's premises are great variations on the same type of tale that has been told since Die Hard(and probably before, but I couldn't think of another example)

I really hope Dredd gets a sequel.

Edit: Edited some wording as it came off a bit abrupt.