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DREDD 3D review:

Greetings, Jack here with our first movie review. The new Dredd 3D movie came out today on Bluray/DVD and while the film received great reviews from critics and fans, it failed miserably at the box office grossing only $13,414,717 domestically and $17,517,232 overseas, for a total of $30,931,946 worldwide. With numbers like that, the chances of seeing a sequel to Dredd 3D is unlikely. Being a huge comic book geek, I must admit that I have never really read any of the Judge Dredd comics from the UK’s 2000 AD Comics magazine, except for a Bat Man/Dredd crossover that happened in ’91, which I enjoy to this day, so I will not be comparing it to the comic books. I will however be looking into them now after seeing how cool and ruthless Karl Urban’s take on the iconic British character. He just makes him seem so badass, that it oozes from the screen. 

Occupied by 800 million people, Mega-City 1 evolved out of a growing urban conurbation stretching from Boston to Washington, which took form in the 21st century to cope with the escalating population crisis in America and, due to the high crime rate, led to the introduction of the Judge system in which Judges have the power of judge, jury and executioner. These Judges are the law in Mega City 1 and Dredd does not fail to emdody this philosophy the moment he steps on screen.

Judge Dredd is assigned to break in a new recruit, Judge Anderson, played by Olivia Thirlby, and they are quickly called in to investigate a triple homicide in one of the many Mega Block buildings which houses more than 75,000 occupants. These Mega Blocks are basically huge apartment buildings that serve as small self contained cities. Once there, they arrest a suspect to these murders, and quickly proceed to make their way to the Hall of Justice to interrogate him. But before they can exit the mega-apartment complex Peach Trees, they are quickly trapped within the 200-story skyscraper and forced to fight off its thousands of inhabitants. The building has been sealed off by Ma-Ma, played by Lena Headey as a scarred former prostitute who now runs a powerful drug ring from the top floors. Dredd and Anderson have arrested one of her lieutenants and so they must be killed before they can force him to testify against her. The flow of the story was very well paced and there really was no dull moment throughout the film. If there was, I didn’t notice.

The action sequences were very well done, and for those that enjoy 3D, you’re in for a surprise because it looks stunning. It is extremely well done especially during the “slo-mo” sequences and the great cinematography that it compliments. The slow motion sequences, while beautifully shot, do play into the story and are not there just to look good. There are some scenes in which the blood splatter looks a bit forced, but you quickly look past it as the body count rises and our heroes make their way to the top floors for their confrontation with Ma-Ma. The score fits in so perfectly, that you can really believe for a moment that you are in a ravaged dystopian future surrounded by chaos.

This film was great from the beginning until the end. From A to Z. But yet, I cannot understand how it could have flopped so bad at the box-office. Come to think of it, there was a lack of marketing from the studio and I’m sure that figured heavily into the final numbers. My only complaint of the film is that it left you wanting to see a sequel with these awesome characters. I even waited until the final credits rolled with a hope of a mention or a hint of one. But as I mentioned in the beginning of the review, the chances of that happening are unlikely at this point. Unless of course they sell a gazillion Blurays/DVD’s. 

Here’s hoping...

Jack

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