By Released in 2012 and headed up by Karl Urban, Lena Headey and Olivia Thirlby, Dredd has proved popular with critics and moviegoers alike but was sadly a box office flop, taking just over $13 million dollars on its release.
Its Duration
Coming in at 1 hour and 35 minutes, Dredd gets straight into the action and doesn’t waste a single minute. A voiceover at the beginning by Judge Dredd (Urban) neatly tells us everything we need to know about this vision of the future that is bordering on dystopic: “America is an irradiated wasteland. Within it lies a city. Outside the boundary walls, a desert.”
Karl Urban as Dredd (2012) – (c) Entertainment Film Distributors
A few minutes later and we see Judge Dredd in action followed by his first encounter with Cassandra Anderson (Thirlby), a rookie Judge who joins him on duty so he can complete her evaluation. Just a few minutes after that (around 10-15 minutes after the film has started) and we meet the magnificently murderous Ma-Ma (Headey) and all hell breaks loose.
It’s One Film
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán
While it would have been fun to see more of Urban as Judge Dredd, the fact that this is a single film – Alex Garland, who produced and wrote the screenplay, continues to say that he will not pen another Dredd film – and not a trilogy or series makes it quite satisfying.
You experience just over 90 minutes of entertainment and happily aren’t left wondering what happened next. There is no cliff hanger and no seeds have been planted for a sequel. Compared to other films of this ilk, this is a pleasant change.
The Visual Effects
Lena Headey in Dredd (2012) – (c) Entertainment Film Distributors
Filmed using 3D cameras and released in both 2D and 3D, the visual effects in Dredd are outstanding and some of the finest I have seen.
A major plot point is Ma-Ma’s drug of choice, “Slo-Mo”. It’s a narcotic that does exactly as its name suggests: as you inhale it, it slows down your perception of time to just 1% of normal. It’s supposedly an enjoyable experience when taken recreationally but Ma-Ma uses it is a truly sinister way, administering it to people before she murders them.
We experience Slo-Mo several times throughout the film. The Slo-Mo sequences were designed over several years with the intention of replicating the effects of hallucinogenic drugs, combining high-speed photography and colour saturation. This dedication and eye for detail completely pays off.
It Stuck To Canon
Karl Urban as Dredd (2012) – (c) Entertainment Film Distributors
Hand on heart: I haven’t read the comics. However, from what I have read (after watching a film I enjoy I spend hours ‘researching’ it online) Dredd sticks close to canon, being a new adaptation of the comics instead of a remake of the 1995 film starring Sylvester Stallone as the eponymous Judge.
Throughout the film the only glimpses we have of Urban’s bare body are his nose, mouth, and neck. His helmet stays firmly in place throughout the film, as does his armoured uniform. This is – so I’m told – exactly how it is in the comics.
Also, it is Anderson who undergoes the traditional character arc. Judge Dredd is near enough the same person at the end of the film as he was at the start.
The Music
A film’s soundtrack can, in some cases, make or break it. Whether it’s a rapturous symphony during the film’s climax or a familiar pop song used in celebration, a soundtrack can both enhance or detract from a scene. And sometimes, the very absence of music is powerful too.
In this instance, the Dredd soundtrack – composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan – perfectly complements what we’re seeing on screen. It’s electronic, mechanical, methodical. It gets your blood pumping as much as the action does and while it might not be something to listen to when you’re trying to relax, if you want to feel like a Judge about to deliver justice, crank it up.
Gender Balance
Olivia Thirlby in Dredd (2012) – (c) Entertainment Film Distributors
This isn’t a testosterone-fuelled film. Far from it, in fact, as Urban stars opposite two powerful women: Thirlby’s Anderson and Headey’s Ma-Ma.
Refreshingly – and quite a few other films should take note here – neither women are in Dredd purely as ‘eye candy’ or as a love interest.
While sex is mentioned on several occasions, in each instance it is relevant to the plot: Ma-Ma has risen her way up from a prostitute to becoming one of the fiercest, most feared drug lords and what Anderson experiences is more to provoke her as a form of mental torture than to be something sexy.
Also, when the two women meet their shared gender doesn’t mean anything. Ma-Ma doesn’t go any easier on Anderson just because she’s also a woman in some display of sisterhood. To Ma-Ma, Anderson is a Judge and that means she’s the enemy. It’s as simple and straightforward as that.
Strong Protagonists
Sticking with the characters, Judge Dredd and Anderson are complete badasses. We take Judge Dredd at face value, as very few (if any) details of his backstory are shared. What we see is a man committed to his job with a strong moral compass over what is right and what is wrong.
Anderson, as mentioned earlier, goes through massive development and it can be argued that this is her film, not Judge Dredd’s. A genetic mutant with the ability to sense the thoughts and emotions of others as well as affect them, Anderson goes through hell in Dredd and grows because of it.
Thirlby has said in interviews that while Judge Dredd is very much ‘black-and-white’, Anderson is ‘grey’, as she is not so resolute in her decisions and feels much more empathy towards law-breakers than Dredd.
Effective Antagonists
Lena Headey in Dredd (2012) – (c) Entertainment Film Distributors
Call me a traditionalist, but in an action film I like my antagonists to be unlikeable. If I’m watching a drama or thriller then sure, they can be more ambiguous, but if it’s an action film then I like them ruthless, nasty and vicious.
Happily, Ma-Ma and her various henchmen, including Kay (Wood Harris), fit the bill. While you may feel a slight twinge of empathy for Ma-Ma thanks to all that she’s been through, she’s still psychotic and fundamentally a criminal. Kay is also a nasty piece of work capable of huge amounts of cruelty.
It’s A Feel-good Flick
When I watch Dredd, I enjoy every minute. I feel empowered and strangely hopeful that even if some version of this future comes to pass, there won’t be martial or all out fighting as there will still be justice.
While there is undeniably a lot of maliciousness in this version of America, and plenty of murders, crime and drugs, there is also a lot of life. You see glimpses of regular people just going about their lives. This is neatly illustrated by a group of kids you see playing basketball. I love basketball (New York Forever) – all you need is a hoop, as these kids demonstrate.
The Plot
Finally, one of the best elements that make up Dredd is its plot. We experience just one day in Judge Dredd and Anderson’s lives. I repeat: the whole film takes place over the course of just one day.
Watching Dredd you aren’t watching some cataclysmic world event where Judge Dredd and Anderson are the heroes who will save mankind from destruction. It is simply an average or slightly more extreme day in the working life of a Judge and you wouldn’t be surprised if Judge Dredd and Anderson experienced a simple type of day in a few weeks’ or months’ time.
Great post, Claire!! You definitely made a great argument why this film is a masterpiece! I just looked at my old review of it, and I gave it a 4/5 so yeah, definitely a great film. I forgot this is written by Alex Garland, he’s such a genius! Love Karl Urban in this role and that music is awesome! Too bad this is a flop but I like the idea of a single film in an age of franchises + endless sequels!
I wonder why it was a flop – poor marketing perhaps?
Yes, in an age of countless franchises and sequels I like that it’s a standalone film.
Can not agree more. Such a great film.
Thank you!
One thing I’d disagree with is that Dredd is a great hero and Ma-Ma a clear-cut antagonist. The morale ambiguity is one of the film’s strongest assets and very deliberately in there. You can watch the film two ways, depending on your worldview. In your view, Dredd is a hero and Ma-Ma (Lena Headey, magnificent as always) is just a vicious drug lord who needs putting down. In another view, Dredd is a totalitarian thug and Ma-Ma is the one you should admire; cruel yes, but living in cruel times and bringing moments of real beauty to people in an otherwise ugly world. Did you notice that Slo-Mo is never said to be addictive? It’s not heroin, it’s just a brief escape. Her men skin those other dealers to make an example of them, sure, but the film takes the time to tell you that they’d been warned off before with a beating before that and stupidly came back. Ma-Ma, like Dredd, maintains order in the chaos and she does it through intimidation and conspicuous force, but isn’t that exactly what the judges do? I 100% agree she absolutely crosses the line when she massacres innocents to get at the judges, but by then she’s fighting for her very existence. In another scene, it’s presented as some kind of a victory when the sensitive Anderson who hesitated before executing a wounded perp has now toughened up to point of killing downed gang members in an almost off-hand way. Her training day has turned her into another robot turning the handle of the meat grinder. “She’s a pass” isn’t a happy thought.
That’s a long way of saying that, like STARSHIP TROOPERS, you can watch it on two levels depending on how you feel about totalitarianism.
Thanks for your comment, Jim! You’ve shared an interesting viewpoint and one that I hadn’t fully considered. Perhaps I have been too clear cut in my reasoning.
Ma-Ma is a fascinating character and one that has arguably ‘flourished’ considering her difficult background. She’s ambitious (taking over from the other clans) and clearly thinks of herself as untouchable. In the V/O at the start Judge Dredd talks about citizens being afraid of the street, the gun and gangs. Ma-Ma has contributed to that. She’s renowned: “Don’t fuck with the Ma-Ma clan”. I feel empathy for her, as I wrote above, but her form of ‘justice’ is cruel and the murder of thousands of innocents is unforgiveable.
It’s a chicken and egg situation – who came first, the criminal or the judge?