Dredd 3D movie .. Was it worth it?

Finally we get on the bandwagon and present our take on the Judge Dredd new movie...
here. I suggest checking out that review before reading the following review. >

I've been waiting to watch Dredd 3D for nearly a year, since I heard that it was being made last year. Judge Dredd is not your average 'good guy/'hero'. He is the epitome of a true anti-hero. He might even have been the first comic book character to be a anti-hero.




Dredd 3D is an R18 (restricted to 18yrs old and above) down here in New Zealand. Not sure what the ratings are like where are located, but as far as I am concerned it deserves that rating. Because you truly get a feel about who Judge Dredd is and what the city he rules over is like.

The movie starts with a narration about how the wars nearly decimated the world. And how whats left of continent of America is; Mega City One. With it's Blocs, which are made of metal and brick high rises which can withstand a nuclear attack. Each Bloc house 100s of 1000s of people, as well as mutants who have been affected by the nuclear war.

We are then taken straight into a chase scene with Dredd chasing some perps (criminals) on his motorbike. This chase scene lets you know you are in for the craziest of movies to ever be adapted from a comic book. And because the movie is 3D the bullets flying and the perps under the influence of a drug called Slo Mo, gives you a rush just watching the 'pretty colors'.

Because a civilian is killed by the perps. Dredd is given the go-ahead to shot to kill. Remember this is not Avengers or X-Men First Class, this is a movie that you don't take your kids to. The level of realistic shoot-outs and bullets travel through a criminal's head might make you feel a little sick if you are not used to gore or blood flying at you. After Dredd kills the perps he calls up the med and clean-up unit to clean up the mess left after the perps have made a bloody mess during the shoot-out.

Here's where you start wondering as a Judge Dredd fan, "How come no one is running as far away as they can from Dredd out of fear?" The reason you and I ask this is because Dredd is the most feared Judge in both Mega City One and Brit Cit (Great Britain). The one I can come up with is that this is the story that sets up the ones that come after. And I am hoping that if they make any others they keep the same director and creative team.

Once Dredd is back at the Hall of Justice, (Judge HQ) he is asked to give his thoughts on Rookie Judge who has failed every test as a Judge. Afterwards Dredd is asked to take the Judge under his wing. And this when we start seeing Dredd as a Judge and how he deals out the law 'to the letter'. The two of them are soon on-site of a triple homicide and Dredd decides to find out who did what and why. It seems that 3 drug dealers where skinned and thrown from near the top of the high rise Bloc.

I am not going to ruin it for you, but if you are a comic fan and also a loyalist Dredd fan, get out and see it at the theater/cinema. I hate reading the plots and twists in reviews or even in trailers. If you miss out seeing Dredd 3D, you will be kicking yourself later. Out of all the movies I have seen so far this year and quite possibly any that I will see rest of this year can and never will come to match the action, realism, comic to film adaption. Dredd 3D is my #1 movie of the year. Also, I forgot add that Karl Urban is a Kiwi, (New Zealander).

5/5 Stars

(ARU), Aruneshwar has a Bachelors Degree in Digital Media -Digital Film-making. Aru is writing and illustrating a graphic novel about the 30yrs of Institutionalised Slavery of Indians in Fiji from 1885 -1915. He is a prolific script writer and writes in all comicbook genres which include several graphic novels for his own company,Rising Sun Comics. Aru also uploads a digital comic series on Facebook called, Zero as well as completing his first crime-noir graphic novel, The Circle. He is also trying to finishing off coloring and lettering a superhero comic book mini-series he co-created with Mike Burbeck called, Incredi-Girl.