Judge Dredd / Dredd
JUDGE DREDD (15)
D: Danny Cannon
Guild/Cinergi (Charles M. Lippincott & Beau E. L.
Marks)
US 1995
96 mins
Science Fiction/Action/Crime
W: William Wisher & Steven E. de Souza [based on
characters created by John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra]
DP: Adrian Biddle
Ed: Alex Mackie & Harry Keramidas
Mus: Alan Silvestri
PD: Nigel Phelps
Sylvester Stallone (Judge Joseph Dredd), Armand Assante (Rico
Dredd), Diane Lane (Judge Hershey), Rob Schneider (Fergee), Joan Chen (Dr. Ilsa Hayden), Jürgen Prochnow (Judge Griffin), Max Von Sydow (Chief Justice Fargo)
Comic book blasphemy is committed here. Around the globe
audible groans were heard in cinema auditoriums the very moment that the Judge (who remains anonymous in the original comic strip) lifts his helmet to reveal the gormless Sylvester Stallone,
yelling "I didn't break duh law. I am duh law." as his sole defence when he is accused of murder.
Sentenced to prison, the vessel transporting him crashes in
the desert and Dredd makes his way back to Mega City One to clear his name and get his revenge on those who framed him. Of course, this is too big a task for one man alone, even if he is a
futuristic law enforcement official, so he's blessed with the companionship of Rod Schneider's "comic" relief.
Perhaps it can be argued that such scandalous liberties were
taken with the comic book character to appeal to a more mainstream audience, but it doesn't make it right. Even Batman & Robin (qv) was more faithful to its source.
A
remake emerged in 2012, simply titled "Dredd". Watch that version and avoid this tripe.
2/10
DREDD (18)
D:
Pete Travis
Lions
Gate / DNA (Alex Garland, Andrew MacDonald & Allon Reich)
UK/South Africa 🇬🇧🇿🇦 2012
95
mins
Action/Science Fiction
W:
Alex Garland [based on characters created by John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra]
DP:
Anthony Dod Mantle
Ed:
Mark Eckersley
Mus:
Paul Leonard-Morgan
PD:
Mark Digby
Cos:
Dianna Cilliers & Michael O'Connor
Karl
Urban (Judge Dredd), Olivia Thilrby (Anderson), Lena Headey (Ma Ma), Wood Harris (Kay)
In the
mid 90's, Sylvester Stallone starred in a pathetic adaptation of Judge Dredd, the most famous character from the 2000AD series of comics. Needless to say it was absolutely terrible, but what do
you expect from a comic book adaptation produced by Disney.
This
version is far more truer to the source material. A violent sci-fi adventure set in a crime-ridden dystopian future, which is much closer to the original Robocop movie than the version mentioned
above. The action takes place in a high-rise slum, controlled by criminal drug overlord Ma-Ma.
In a
nutshell, it's Robocop meets Die Hard, with the comic book hero going from floor-to-floor, offing the bad guys as he goes.
This
is everything that the Stallone version wasn't. An entertaining, thrilling slice of science fiction fantasy.
7/10
