Judge Dredd is a badass who obeys the law—perfectly. When he's sent out to train his new psychic rookie partner, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), the two find themselves locked down in a gang infested city block, where the only justice crime knows is pain. Dredd 3D is an immensely fun action thriller that gets right what the 1995 Judge Dredd got so very wrong.
From the opening scene, it's obvious that Dredd isn't the type of film that takes itself seriously. This is a bloody satire that, if it wasn't done right, could have been a colossal failure. The costumes are silly, the setting is hilariously bleak, and the characters aren't exactly original—and that's exactly why it works so well.
Dredd is based on the long running comic strip, Judge Dredd, which is famous for its tongue-in-cheek approach to tackling important themes, like anarchism and the growing police state. The cyberpunk strip shocked readers with its dystopian visuals and gritty storylines, many of which were very influential in shaping the future of comics.
This latest film adaptation is a successful update that is sure to please fans and newcomers alike. Like the comic strip that came before it, Dredd is a smart movie, though on its face it may seem like nothing more than a "B" production with a big budget.
Visually this is one of the most impressive 3D movies I have ever seen, and it's very hard for me to imagine that the 2D version can hold a candle in comparison. There's a consistent use of slow motion that, while hard to describe, is unlike anything I've seen in other films—it's truly beautiful to watch, especially in 3D.
The gimmick for the slow motion is a new street drug called Slo-Mo that has self-explanatory effects on the brain. The special effects, which really do give Dredd its own style, wouldn't otherwise fit without this explanation.
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