Yes folks, it's time for another McNuggets Review. This time we take on a more cunning, a more violent, a more... disturbing-yet-laudable movie, Dredd adapted from strips off of the sci-fi comic anthology 2000 AD.
The premise is one we're almost familiar with so much that we can spell it out word to word to any passerby who's got the doubt.
The future, a semi-post-apocalyptic wasteland that is, United States of America (Cursed Earth) with only one organisation that fighting for justice going by the name The Hall of Judgement, the operatives termed Judges. The story focuses on Mega-City-One where a circulation of a drug called Slo-Mo that alters the user's perception of reality i.e. it makes everything go in slow-motion. Violence prevails all over with crime rates smashing the roof. One of the Judges (Dredd played by Karl Urban) takes responsibility into his own hands to take down the gang-lord Madelaine Madrigal, nicknamed "Ma-Ma" (Lena Headey), along with an attractive lady side-kick Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) of course.
Dredd is incredible on the visuals, be it the fight sequences to even the gruesome murdering of innocent slum-dwellers of the 200-storey Peach Trees block. Dredd takes note of the effects of the drug and uses it to its advantage with unexpected panache.
The recreation of the infamous Mega-City-One and Peach Trees block was brilliant. The amount of work that would have gone into bringing that monument to life.
However aside from that, the story or the way it is told isn't anything new or original (well it is an adaptation after all, but they could've gone with something that isn't as lackluster). Just your average superhero movie, glorifying the lead only following the more recent trend of using excessive blood and violence (not that I mind, I loved both of them). It almost seems as though they made the entire movie, JUST so they could show off their incredible SLO-MO, which however, is used in balance and is a delight to watch. I mean, WHO doesn't love a good extreme-slow-motion sequence!
The dialogues aren't very special (you can't go expecting something like Django from a rather lo-fi movie such as this). It doesn't provide you with memorable quotes that one would hope for like the "nigga moment" on The Boondocks. But, that doesn't mean that it was bad, they weren't special but it was enough, it sufficed.
The cast was brilliant, Karl Urban takes the cake on this one. He was meticulous and precise in portraying a "The Mirror" (Sylvia Plath)-esque character with Dredd. Judging all evil for what it is without any bias, true to the original. I could literally see the counterpart, the comic's Dredd in him. The rest of the cast well, they weren't as stand-out-ish enough, they were there and they did what they had to do. But as the title suggests, the movie is more a one-man show than anything.
All in all, Dredd is an excellent entertainer if that's what you're looking for. It will definitely leave you sitting with your mouth open and drooling in awe at the delicacies that it has to offer. Some parts of it might even remind you of the 2010 comedy-gore-fest Kick-Ass. If you liked that, then you will definitely be pleased with what you see on this movie.
7.9/10
The premise is one we're almost familiar with so much that we can spell it out word to word to any passerby who's got the doubt.
The future, a semi-post-apocalyptic wasteland that is, United States of America (Cursed Earth) with only one organisation that fighting for justice going by the name The Hall of Judgement, the operatives termed Judges. The story focuses on Mega-City-One where a circulation of a drug called Slo-Mo that alters the user's perception of reality i.e. it makes everything go in slow-motion. Violence prevails all over with crime rates smashing the roof. One of the Judges (Dredd played by Karl Urban) takes responsibility into his own hands to take down the gang-lord Madelaine Madrigal, nicknamed "Ma-Ma" (Lena Headey), along with an attractive lady side-kick Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) of course.
Dredd is incredible on the visuals, be it the fight sequences to even the gruesome murdering of innocent slum-dwellers of the 200-storey Peach Trees block. Dredd takes note of the effects of the drug and uses it to its advantage with unexpected panache.
The recreation of the infamous Mega-City-One and Peach Trees block was brilliant. The amount of work that would have gone into bringing that monument to life.
However aside from that, the story or the way it is told isn't anything new or original (well it is an adaptation after all, but they could've gone with something that isn't as lackluster). Just your average superhero movie, glorifying the lead only following the more recent trend of using excessive blood and violence (not that I mind, I loved both of them). It almost seems as though they made the entire movie, JUST so they could show off their incredible SLO-MO, which however, is used in balance and is a delight to watch. I mean, WHO doesn't love a good extreme-slow-motion sequence!
The dialogues aren't very special (you can't go expecting something like Django from a rather lo-fi movie such as this). It doesn't provide you with memorable quotes that one would hope for like the "nigga moment" on The Boondocks. But, that doesn't mean that it was bad, they weren't special but it was enough, it sufficed.
The cast was brilliant, Karl Urban takes the cake on this one. He was meticulous and precise in portraying a "The Mirror" (Sylvia Plath)-esque character with Dredd. Judging all evil for what it is without any bias, true to the original. I could literally see the counterpart, the comic's Dredd in him. The rest of the cast well, they weren't as stand-out-ish enough, they were there and they did what they had to do. But as the title suggests, the movie is more a one-man show than anything.
All in all, Dredd is an excellent entertainer if that's what you're looking for. It will definitely leave you sitting with your mouth open and drooling in awe at the delicacies that it has to offer. Some parts of it might even remind you of the 2010 comedy-gore-fest Kick-Ass. If you liked that, then you will definitely be pleased with what you see on this movie.
7.9/10
