When I first saw Dredd back in 2012, I was unimpressed and thought it was kind of "meh". Now, I think it's one of the greatest, most underappreciated superhero films.
As a matter of fact, a few films that I have featured in Ted's MOVIE OF THE WEEK--Looper, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Terminator Salvation, and Training Day--were not highly regarded at first, but when I saw them again, they became immediate favorites, earning my highly coveted 4.5-star rating.
Whether it was me missing some vital dialogue or my mood or my hormones or whatever, it illustrates that movies sometimes deserve a second chance.
Set in a dystopian future, Dredd is about law enforcement officials called Judges who are judge, jury, and executioner. For example, if a suspect is found guilty of murder, they would be executed right on the spot.
One of the most feared and experienced Judges is Judge Dredd, who is characterized as being stoic and very disciplined, yet he can be unintentionally comedial. Dredd is a British film, which is fitting because Judge Dredd is based on a British comic created back in 1977.
Coincidentally, the Indonesian hit movie The Raid: Redemption that also came out in 2012 has almost an identical plot. In both films, the protagonist has to survive the hunt by a mob of criminals in a residential skyscraper with a large atrium.
Back in March, I featured Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stallone in Ted's MOVIE OF THE WEEK, and it was an action-comedy that was reportedly disliked by one of Judge Dredd's creators, John Wagner. Dredd, on the other hand, is very gritty and much more faithful to the source material.
It's also worth noting how Dredd was made. Most 3D movies shown in theaters have been converted from 2D. However, like Avatar, Dredd was shot stereoscopically with special dual-camera rigs. Dredd is cinematographically beautiful with a fantastic surround soundtrack, so if you want to test out and demo a home theater system with a subwoofer, use Dredd. (If you have a 3D compatible player and HDTV, the 3D version of the movie is still available on Blu-ray and Vudu.)
Starring Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Boys), Dredd is a must-see movie for action and comic superhero fans, and it's a shame Judge Dredd hasn't gained the same popularity as other Marvel and DC Comics characters. Judge Dredd doesn't have any superpowers per se, but even still, if the film Dredd is any indication, he has the potential to be a highly successful franchise.
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