The Flickering Myth writing team trade opinions on the first trailer for Dredd…
In 1995 Sylvester Stallone starred as judge, jury and executioner in Judge Dredd. Whilst the film has its fans, they are mostly drowned out by the critics. The movie has a dire 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is slammed for weaknesses in almost every department. It is remembered as a slice of mindless action, which for some went too far, glorifying violence and doing little else. Veteran critic Roger Ebert neatly summarised Judge Dredd as “a Blade Runner for audiences with Attention Deficit Disorder”.
Fans of the comic book that inspired Stallone’s futuristic action flick presumably hoped that someone would come along to create a film worthy of the source material. In late June we showed you the trailer for Dredd, directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point). But what did our writing team make of the sneak peek of this new, independent, British take on the brutal law enforcer?
Simon Moore: It is a real relief that Karl Urban manages to say “I am the Law” without resorting to the facial krakatoa that was Stallone’s performance…but on the evidence of this trailer, the rest of the reboot looks as if it’s not progressed much beyond that disastrous original. Just as before, it seems to miss the point of Judge Dredd completely. The 2000 AD comics weren’t advocating ultra-violence, they were satirising it. Can anyone else see even the faintest glimmer of a hint of satire in that trailer? Nope. Neither can I.
Gary Collinson: It’s great to see an ambitious British effort like this but sadly it doesn’t seem like they had the budget to really do Judge Dredd justice. Mega City One looks far from ‘Mega’, and by cramming all the action into a single building (if that turns out to be the case), it’s easy to see why it’s been accused of knocking-off The Raid. Still, it looks like there’ll be plenty of action on offer and it would have to sink to some depths storywise to reach the level of the Sylvester Stallone version. So, with only that for comparison, I’m sure fans will be pleased enough, even if it doesn’t turn out to be the definitive adaptation. As for the actual trailer, they probably could have done a better job of introducing Dredd too…
Simon Columb: It seems a bit like Total Recall/Tron: Legacy + The Dark Knight… the futuristic stuff, the hint of a darker, judge-like role… and based on a comic book. As someone who hasn’t read the comic book, as good as it may be, it doesn’t seem groundbreaking. Just cashing in on the craze that is currently going around. Very 2012.
Anghus Houvouras: I won’t lie. I’m a fan of the first Judge Dredd. Much like someone is a fan of watching a garbage fire. It’s so simultaneously the best and worst aspects of summer blockbusters. Great production design and huge set pieces, stuffed with inconceivably bad writing and acting. I remember seeing the original in the theater and sitting there slack jawed with the sheer volume of terrible crammed into this attractive looking package. Dredd looks to be something completely different. I think the low budget treatment makes more sense to the character. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the character of Judge Dredd has always been about the cool factor. It’s better in concept than execution. And while I liked this trailer, I immediately get that B-Movie vibe. Once you see ‘LIONSGATE’ you know what you’re getting: an affordable genre film. I hear people complaining about the contained location, but did a massive expansive world help Judge Dredd as a movie? I’m not blown away by the trailer but am interested enough to see it. I think Judge Dredd might be like The Punisher. No matter how many attempts to take that coolness from the page to the screen, you end up losing too much in the translation to make something excellent.
Rohan Morbey: Really disappointed by the trailer. I hate over-use of slow-mo and this is using it as if it were going out of fashion (which it sadly is not). It looks to be in the same category as Resident Evil, Hitman and all the other lower-league action pictures. I can’t see it being a huge success.
Luke Owen: I wouldn’t insult the movie by comparing it to the Resident Evil films, but I get your point. Personally, I like the look of it. Dredd looks cool and the action looks like it might be fun. And best of all, not a Rob Schneider in sight.
Tom Jolliffe: I don’t really see a selling point for this. It looks quite cheap at times and the slow motion seems to be there to milk the 3D aspect. To me it just looks a little bit straight to video, and low end at that. I was half expecting to see Lorenzo Lamas or Eric Roberts pop up. In fact that chizelled, stubbled jaw line could easily be Lamas if we didn’t know any better. At the same time though, it looks like it could be fun, but I don’t think people, bar die hard Dreddites, will flock to the multiplexes for this.
Scott Davis: All in all, I was rather impressed by the trailer. Sure, it looks like it has been made on a small budget, hence The Raid style setting, but it looks better than a lot of movies coming up in the second half of the year. Urban and Headey are brilliant casting choices too, and will only elevate the film above the normal bog standard sci-fi actioner.
Oliver Davis: Usually I hate CGI, but those slow motion shots really capture the punk vibe of the comics. The 80s colour palette fits those scenes rather well. Those look like the most expensive parts of the movie, though, as some of those crowd scenes look like they’ve been snatched from London riots footage.Also, the drug they’re describing – isn’t that Brass Eye’s Cake?
Martin Deer: This looks like it could be a fun, good, movie. Don’t expect much more from it though to be honest but I’m certainly interested at this stage.
Matt Smith: From the trailer, I’d hope it’s an 80s-style flick with a bit of grit. Urban’s casting, yes, should elevate it but a big problem (amongst many big problems) with the previous Dredd movie was the script. So hopefully this one will have a script that wasn’t written by a complete maroon.I also hope it doesn’t get bogged down with comparisons with The Raid, purely because people will say they’ve ripped it off when Dredd went into production before (correct me if I’m wrong, but do it gently. I’m fragile.) And if they do something original with the ‘shoot up through a building of bad guys’ plot, who cares if they’re similar?I doubt the film’s gonna be out of this world, but it can still be a good flick. And you can’t really tell from a trailer. It could surprise us.
Matt is right; Dredd could surprise us. The trailer and the marketing campaign thus far may showcase as many flaws as it does strengths, but it hints at considerably more promise than the Stallone version. Even if this Dredd is nothing more than another generous helping of senseless brutality it looks as though it will have its own distinctive visual style. Having said that, however, this is not necessarily a good thing. Several of our writers pick up on the emphasis on slow-mo. Surely it’s going to be a near impossible task to do something new with such an overused technique, especially when the plot requires it repeatedly?
Frankly the trailer is baffling at points. The drug at the heart of the story seems ridiculous and a weak premise for any film. To make matters worse it is introduced to us with a strange choice of music, seemingly out of sync with Dredd’s overall tone and look. When added to clunky dialogue and clumsy subtitles, the first minute of the trailer is a disaster. Thankfully it’s at this point that Karl Urban’s Dredd turns up with some action scenes and more suitable, dramatic music. Appropriately, it’s Dredd himself that rescues this trailer. But ultimately he only elevates it from awful to average.
Our writers seem pretty sure Dredd will be mediocre with some mild enjoyment. But what do you think? How do you judge Dredd? (I’m sorry I couldn’t resist).
