Dredd

[kali o.]

Buncha comic nerds here and no one hyped up Dredd at all? For shame. I almost missed out.

I downloaded it on a whim, expecting to not even finish it, but it was badass enough that I watched it twice and plan to pick up the 3d release on BR (not sure if its out yet).

[bovine]

I am the law.

*edit*

Wait, I'm going to get on a computer and make this post more awesome.

*additional edit*



Whew, there we go. You guys are lucky to have dedicated (and good looking) people like me who are really willing to go the extra mile for you.

[Eric]

I saw it, it was actually really good, and faithful to the comic, but it tanked at the box office, so no hype.

[kali o.]

You know, I actually like Stallone's Judge Dredd (the same way I like Demolition Man) but I know its a bad movie.

(Sudden thought...Maybe I just like Rob Schnieder...lol.)

But that said, Dredd 3D is actually a good movie. Like Terminator-good. It's kinda stupid to me that it didn't get any hype.

[Eric]

They didn't even release the DVD/Blu-Ray until after Christmas. -_-

[Zeus]

Nothing beats the retarded-kid way that Stallone said "I AM THE LAW!" in the original. I missed that in the new one :-)

[Flip]

As far as old Stallone movies go, i've seen Demolition Man like a billion times, but am not too familiar with Judge Dredd... Maybe i can watch the the remake without rose colored glasses then.

[SineSwiper]

I think Wagner (owner of the Dredd rights) actually put in the contract that the character cannot remove his helmet in the film.

[bovine]

Watched it, and although it is CLEARLY the superior Judge Dredd movie, it is not very good.

A lot of contrived shots to sell a 3d effect that was lost in my 2d viewing, the silly inclusion of a rookie judge to help set up the world, and really flat villains. It was a passable action slog, but it seemed like it didn't go hard enough into the harshness of MegaCity 1. Too much girl in it.

[kali o.]

Watched it, and although it is CLEARLY the superior Judge Dredd movie, it is not very good.

A lot of contrived shots to sell a 3d effect that was lost in my 2d viewing, the silly inclusion of a rookie judge to help set up the world, and really flat villains. It was a passable action slog, but it seemed like it didn't go hard enough into the harshness of MegaCity 1. Too much girl in it.

Meh...what contrived shots? Slo Mo? Looked pretty fantastic on my plasma in 2d, what are you watching it on? And the rookie was clearly there because they learned their lesson and kept Dredd what he was supposed to be, helmet and all. Even the psychic stuff wasn't lame. What other girl angle is there? Cersi? If your complaint was she wasn't developed enough, I could agree with you, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Pretty sure me and you will share the same taste...well, never. So it's OK you didn't like it but I gotta ask...what in the world do you want out of a Dredd movie exactly?

[Zeus]

Was the psychic a bigger supporting character in the comics? My bud said she was portrayed well in the new one

[bovine]

What would I like in a Judge Dredd movie?

I think that this one was headed in the right direction, but it didn't go far enough for me. It was trying to be hard edged, but I don't think it was hard enough. The psychic character as a rookie put a bit too much fragility and softness in the movie for me. She was there as a contrast for Dredd, who was supposed to be framed as one tough, no nonsense dude. Take her away, and just have Dredd being one stone cold, perp shooting motherfucker. I'm not sure if I want the universe properly explained to me or not. From what I gather - there is a Hall of Justice that is Judge HQ, MegaCity 1 is a really big shithole, Judges are mostly helmet wearing emotionless robots or helmet wearing dirty emotionless robots on the take, there are things called iso-cubes where people are sentenced to go if they are not sentenced to get merked, and regular people are either SUPER regular or are crazy criminals. So there wasn't enough setup in the movie, so either give me lots of setup or give me a Blade Runner scenario where you give me zero setup and just expect me to catch up along the way.

I liked that the movie was just - Hey, we cleaned up a bit of crime, but there is like SO MUCH crime that it hardly matters, TBC maybe.

[SineSwiper]

I haven't seen it yet, but I get the impression that it's sorta like The Raid. And I'm okay with that.

[kali o.]

What would I like in a Judge Dredd movie?

I think that this one was headed in the right direction, but it didn't go far enough for me. It was trying to be hard edged, but I don't think it was hard enough. The psychic character as a rookie put a bit too much fragility and softness in the movie for me. She was there as a contrast for Dredd, who was supposed to be framed as one tough, no nonsense dude. Take her away, and just have Dredd being one stone cold, perp shooting motherfucker. I'm not sure if I want the universe properly explained to me or not. From what I gather - there is a Hall of Justice that is Judge HQ, MegaCity 1 is a really big shithole, Judges are mostly helmet wearing emotionless robots or helmet wearing dirty emotionless robots on the take, there are things called iso-cubes where people are sentenced to go if they are not sentenced to get merked, and regular people are either SUPER regular or are crazy criminals. So there wasn't enough setup in the movie, so either give me lots of setup or give me a Blade Runner scenario where you give me zero setup and just expect me to catch up along the way.

I liked that the movie was just - Hey, we cleaned up a bit of crime, but there is like SO MUCH crime that it hardly matters, TBC maybe.

While I understand what you are saying, I don't think what you want would end up being...what you want.

If you completely take out any sort of character/world development (because, well Dredd himself offers virtually none), you end up with a completely bland action flick. If you go too much the other way, you end up at the 1995 Judge Dredd. There isn't a lot of middle ground here and, for what it is worth, I think Dredd did it just about right (minus not giving mama enough development). If you care about the world, the rookie gave you just enough development/backstory. If you care about action, Dredd delivers.

From what I understand, the comic itself deals with a certain degree of...critique...about American ideals and policies. Or at least thats what I believe. That's about maybe the only other place Dredd could have covered without selling itself out -- but it makes sense to avoid that in its first outing (and again, it wouldn't be Dredd himself driving that theme as much as the people and world around him).

I haven't seen it yet, but I get the impression that it's sorta like The Raid. And I'm okay with that.

I zoned out for the Raid (half watched it) but it actually reminds me more of Terminator 1.