Comments on: Comic-Con ’12 Review: ‘Dredd’ A Visually Strong, Engaging But Ultimately Empty Cinematic Experience

By: Middenface

Middenface — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

If you're asking âWhat was that film actually about?â then you're missing the point. Dredd doesnt need the social or political comentary, IT IS the commentary. It's about where Wagner and the other writers think we're going, its a fly on the wall view of the future, Dredd and the others are damaged individuals living a meaningless one dimensional existence in a bleak violent future because of what we are doing now and thats the point. Dredds version of law enforcement is the damaged psycotic child of our global politics and the (as Dredds creators see it) inevitable ruin of our planet and societies and liberties brought about by our present day conflicts and our leaders reactions to them and the controls that our leaders heap upon us every day in their attempts to control us, make us be pure be vigilant and behave and save us from ourselves, from the security at airports, to speed cameras and the sumary justice meted out to those caught by those cameras to the brutal repression of their own people by regimes in places like Syria and Iran (and the way that the 'free' west apes elements of that repression in order to protect us from the terrorists paid by the Iranians and others. All of this is heading towards Dredds world in the eyes of the people who created Dredd (as well as the chance to write in their own dark nasty dry humour). âWhat was that film actually about?â Carry on as we are and this is what life will be like for your grandchildren is what its about.

By: Instant Justice

Instant Justice — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

I'd rather not be "moralised" at in films. The "point" is in the subtext of the entire film. I don't need someone to tell me the point at the end of those 90 minutes. This is not a Hollywood film that needs to spell things out. Film is both art and entertainment.

By: sanjuro

sanjuro — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

It is funny the first paragraph of the review mentions the Snyder's remake of "Dawn Of The Dead", which I think is very good partly because it lacks the ridiculous moralizing that Romero sticks into his zombie films.

One problem with most American films is the necessity to insert a happy ending, or even on a more philosophical sense, social or metaphysical justice.

Even Robocop, which obviously took cues from Judge Dredd down to the helmet visage, had the barest of a value system (not surprisingly, a European directed it). The villains had the most fun and the hero is property of a conglomerate trapped inside a robot body.

By: John

John — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

Olivia Thirlby looks so embarrassingly miscast in this thing. Kick-Ass was ridiculous so I could buy the silliness of that idea. But here, a puny child holding her own against bad guys – stupid. Very shocked to hear she "holds her own."

By: Mr Anonymous

Mr Anonymous — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

I'm confused. You've called it 'A Visually Strong, Engaging But Ultimately Empty Cinematic Experience' yet you've given it a B- grade which is still pretty good. I would have expected with it being an 'Empty Cinematic Experience' the grade to be much worse. Other websites have been giving it glowing positive reviews yet yours is a downer. Curious.

By: StephenM

StephenM — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

Yeah, I totally understand this review's point about theme and moral depth, but the film still sounds better than I expected, so. . .good!

By: adgy

adgy — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

If it's violent, has well developed characters, strong performances and beautiful visuals THEN THAT IS PERFECTLY OK WITH ME.

By: Appleby

Appleby — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

I think Mr Moo has it spot on. Dredd is a character we see the Mega City 1 world through. Reading only a few of the comics you'll realise that his role doesn't represent humanity, he represents the system he works for. The supporting characters are there to reflect on the humanity of it all, even ourselves as the viewer. Todd Gilchrist should have checked out some source material passing his own judgement (no pun, I swear) on Dredd's character.

By: Mr Moo

Mr Moo — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

I am a longterm reader of 2000AD. Got every issue.

"But if just asking the question âWhat was that film actually about?â is all thatâs necessary to undermine the surface-level enjoyment of watching Urban and Thirlby fight their way out of a well-designed structure, why does it matter â not to mention, why should we care — if they ever succeed? "

You're not meant to care about Judge Dredd, well, not in the conventional sense. He will arrest anyone that breaks any crime. You forget to pay your broadband connection, three months in the cubes!

It's hard to like or "care" about the character -but that isn't the point, anyway. What fans care about is the story; they care about how Judge Dredd solves crimes, they care what sort of crazy perps and citizens he encounters. And most of all, they care that the story is written by John Wagner, or, if written by another writer – in this case, screenwriter, Alex Garland – it contains enough John Wagner elements:

A) absurd humour

B) imagination

C) Intelligent story-telling

and

D) Judge Dredd portrayed as a cop of the future.

He is not a bastard with a powerful handgun, he is a policeman of the future and it's imperative the new film shows that. He follows rules, procedures. He's not The Punisher with a license to kill.

No Judge Dredd film will ever capture the full richness of the 2000AD version because that has developed over three decades. If the new film captures a slice, a moment, a day of life in the mad city of Mega-City 1 then it's done its job. 🙂 Subject to decent box office, a richer storyline can be considered for a sequel.

By: James

James — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

How does he see out of that helmet?

By: Mark Zhuravsky

Mark Zhuravsky — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

Excellent review Todd! This definitely bolsters my desire to catch "Dredd" in theaters, but perhaps on a matinee morning.

By: Stan

Stan — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:57 +0000

I have not seen it yet but from reviews and newsfeeds I'd say they have hit the button spot on. Better the devil you know but I would say they have it spot on from the trailer and at the end of the day it's a low budget flic that is trying to make a impression of DREDD and his world so see what happens in the sequels etc. I really appreciate the fact that its independent and hope it does well as it takes some stones to make a movie on the budget they were given and lets not forget only fans of JD know the actual character having grown up with him in real time and weather or not people will make of the movie being new to Dredd will be the butter on the toast. Ta Ta

By: Matt Osborne

Matt Osborne — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:56 +0000

From this review, the movie sounds very faithful to the comic from which it's adapted. And the setting itself IS THE COMMENTARY: Mega City One is a caricature of the urban sprawl, commercialization, and social atomization of our present day social order.