Today’s quick review: Dredd. In the future, the entire northeastern part of the United States has been merged into one massive city. Crime runs rampant, and the only force for law and order is the Hall of Justice and its Judges, cops who enforce Mega City One’s penal code with brutal efficiency. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is one of the best. When Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a new recruit with psychic powers, is brought onto the force, Dredd is assigned to conduct her in-field assessment. The two investigate a triple homicide in one of Mega City One’s towering apartment blocks. But when their investigation gets too close to Ma Ma (Lena Headey), the local drug kingpin, she locks down the building and sends her gang to eliminate the Judges. Dredd and Anderson must fight their way through 200 floors of armed enemies to dispense justice, if they can stay alive.
Dredd is a violent sci-fi action movie with a simple premise and top-notch execution. Karl Urban aces Judge Dredd’s stoic expressions and laconic speech. Dredd is the law incarnate, never flinching, never hesitating, and never failing to dispense the brutal justice of Mega City One. Olivia Thirlby plays opposite him as the psychic Anderson. Anderson has the mettle of a Judge combined with a compassionate streak that could make or break her career. The movie takes these two simple characters and pits them against a series of challenges that not only drive the plot, but earn the audience’s respect.
Where other action movies try to show a little vulnerability in their heroes, Dredd’s mask never slips. Dredd and Anderson are resourceful, tenacious, and ultimately a force for good in a violent world. No one incident is all that impressive, but taken together they paint a very interesting portrait of the movie’s heroes. The depravity of the criminals, the infinitesimal hints of compassion from Dredd, and the tempering of Anderson all serve to steadily build the impression that the Judges have proven themselves. Were Dredd a little less terse, were Anderson a little softer, the effect would not have worked, but as it is, the Judges are an impressive variant on the usual action movie heroes.
Dredd is not for the faint of heart. Death is cheap in Mega City One, and the movie shows this state of affairs in all its gory detail. The action scenes are an excuse to break out the heavy ordnance, with machine guns, incendiary rounds, and tear gas all adding punch to the combat. The drug Slo-Mo provides a bit of stylistic flair by slowing the perception of time for a few of Dredd’s targets. Bullets tear through bodies in color-enhanced slow motion while ethereal music plays in the soundtrack. While the combat is tense, creative, and satisfyingly violent, it is limited by the setting. Guns and explosives are the name of the game rather than chases, stunts, or hand-to-hand combat. Dredd does its guns well, but for the most part it only does guns.
Watch Dredd if you are desensitized to violence and looking for a solid, well-executed action flick. Dredd promises little beyond a peek into the world of Mega City One, but that peek is vivid and satisfying. There are no subtle plot points, sympathetic villains, or layered meanings, just hard protagonists and plenty of violence. Those that enjoy violent action movies should give Dredd a watch, as it is one of the better entries in the genre in recent years. Those who are at all squeamish around blood should skip it, as should those looking for a meaningful watch.
7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for great execution, plenty of action, and impressive protagonists.