Dredd (2012) – I’ll
admit right off the bat that I’ve never seen the 1995 Sylvester Stallone
treatment of the hyperviolent 2000 AD
comics character, though I’ve only heard bad things. If those bad things are true, I’m confident
in saying that Dredd is a finer take
on that character, but even better – it’s a solid film regardless. Karl Urban stars as the titular Judge Dredd,
a law enforcement officer with a permanent scowl and a relentless penchant for
any-means-necessary punishment. Training
rookie Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) on a routine triple homicide, Dredd becomes
the target of drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) in a locked-down slum
building. First of all, Urban looks exactly like the comic book character
(and it helps that he never removes his helmet), and he captures the no-nonsense
sneer with aplomb. I was less convinced
by Thirlby’s portrayal of Anderson, though she holds her own by the time the
film reaches its climax. Major kudos go
to director Pete Travis, who keeps the action sequences engaging without
feeling like we’re watching a video game and who deftly walks that line between
black humor and tonal inconsistency.
Indeed, the film takes itself just
seriously enough that its violent excesses result in some fantastic eyeball
kicks rather than a series of gory grotesqueries. While Dredd
is far from the A-list comic book entertainment we’ve come to expect from the
likes of Nolan, Whedon, and (most recently) Synder, it’s a fine second-tier
comic book movie in the same vein as Rodriguez’s Sin City – a tonally and visually faithful adaptation bringing the
source material to life at the hands of (as Smilin’ Stan might say) some true
believers. That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you here next week!
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