Dredd
Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby
Director Peter Travis
Review Ray Chan
Dredd is a fantastic film: sharply focused, true to the spirit of the comic book character, and filled with ratcheting tension and killer action set pieces.
Shot and designed for a 3D experience, the film’s policeman protagonist is played superbly by Karl Urban wearing his best grimace and scowl.
A new drug called Slo-Mo is circulating through Dredd’s grim future metropolis Mega-City One, with its users experiencing reality in a slowed-down state that is visualised in 3-D with stunning clarity and colour.
What could have been a gimmick becomes a central plot device and a trademark visual of the movie. The experience of falling off of a skyscraper on Slo-Mo, for instance, feels like eternity for the poor falling victim.
It’s a fine testament to the skills of director Pete Travis and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who pull out all the stops in making the sequences pop, ripple, and explode.
Part of the appeal of the movie is the linear fashion of the storyline, which goes from start to finish without meandering on confusing diversions.
Dredd and his new trainee, psychic recruit Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), answer a call to the nearest triple homicide, and soon find themselves trapped in the slum tower of the dreaded gangster Ma-Ma, with no way to escape except to kill ’em all.
In this apocalyptic future, Dredd has the power of judge, jury and executioner, while at the same time being the uncontested hero of the story. There’s a wonderful balance struck between thrilling entertainment and the square-jawed triumph of The Man.
It’s a straightforward good guy versus bad guy showdown and one almost feels that Dredd’s singular and unwavering devotion to the law is the key to holding this tenuous society from teetering right off the brink.
Famously never depicted without wearing his signature helmet, Dredd is always The Law, a trope abandoned in Sylvester Stallone’s disappointing version of the same character several years ago.
Succeeding as an action movie, a comic book adaptation, a tonally tricky science fiction narrative, and a visually compelling live action adaptation, Dredd is one of this year’s most memorable cinematic offerings.
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