Dredd

This is exactly what I needed. A B-grade action flick with a self-aggrandizing loudmouth protagonist partnered with a gorgeous little girl. A supremely satisfying action flick with great slow-motion and a pleasant running time. It must have been freaking awesome in IMAX 3D. Every once in a while I fall in love with a B-movie and feel the need to watch it repeatedly at relatively short intervals. Dredd is exactly one of them. "Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law... Judgement time!" (2015-03-15)

Surprisingly good, but only on the second attempt. The first time I saw Dredd, I couldn't shake the impression for a good half of the film that Karl Urban was wearing a helmet a size too big and that most of what he says sounds wannabe tough/awkward. The second time around, however, all that disappeared and I noticed mainly the film's momentum, how thoughtful and blackly funny it is, how well Dredd and his partner fit together, how perfect Lena Headey is as the villain, and how all the bloody scenes have their reasons and none of them are there just for decoration... A lot of moments will probably become legendary (Dredd coming in, throwing the henchman off the catwalk, and leaving again) and if it's true that there won't be a sequel, then that’s a real shame. The next time I see the film (and it is certain that I will see it), I may very well add a fifth star. (2014-04-03)

From start to finish, a sough-after bit of nonsense that unwittingly joins hands with its inept predecessor from the 90s. It is all the more amusing that it strives so hard not to be such an unnecessary addition. And yet Karl Urban goes unused, the attractive Olivia Thirlby has a thankless role as a talented rookie, Lena Headey as the main attraction never steps out of the box of the anonymous antagonist, and the brutal action becomes boring after the third shootout. I don't understand what happened to Alex Garland's creative talent, which he obviously possesses in spades. Most of the time Dredd only hints at its world, showcasing only a few fragments and instead giving far more space to blatantly inaccessible scenes, and slow-motion shots that are, forgive me, plain stupid (without which this movie would have lasted no more than a weak hour). (2019-05-07)

I wasn’t looking forward to it. I don’t know the comics, I didn’t watch the first Judge Dredd, I don’t like this kind of action B-movies, and the trailer was repellent. In short, the ideal position for a movie to surprise me. And it did. It’s brutal, with a dose of exaggeration so perfectly balanced that it doesn’t look cringe, but cool. Everything is properly intense: the visuals, the violence, the dialogues, the actors; everything is over the top, but not too much. Dredd can be considered utter bullshit, and many people will for sure. But for me it’s a distinctive, engaging, intense and purposeful movie without much competition in its sub-genre. (2012-12-20)

It’s basically a sequel of The Raid, an action flick without a solid story skeleton, but in this case, unfortunately, also without amazing fight choreography, without atmosphere and without a likeable protagonist. Karl Urban has had many better roles in his career, and Pete Travis certainly has the chops for more than just a mindless shooter that shows emotions as much as Dredd smiles. The three stars are for the great premise and setting, for the properly bloody action and for the fact that I wasn't bored for even a moment during those 90 minutes. But I don’t need to watch it again. 65% (2013-07-15)