Dredd

My 2-word review for Dredd: Uncompromising Justice

"Dredd" is a pretty straight-on take on the source material from the British comic anthology titled "2000 AD" from the late 1970s. In a world in the future were Mega-City is the only place to live on Earth, it's overpopulated and over-run by crime. The Judges are literally police, judge, jury and executioner to dispense justice in Mega-City, and face all sorts of dangers on a daily basis. Judge Dredd is a dedicated Judge, always looking to deal with crime pursuant to his charge as Judge. You never see his full face, just the nose/mouth/jaw area. Karl Urban plays Dredd really straight.

"Dredd"'s plot could almost be called "Dredd: Training Day" because Dredd is directed to evaluate a new Judge, a marginal female candidate named Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), with some extra abilties that come in handy when dealing with criminals. Their first day is a doozy, and that's pretty much what the film is about.

Unlike films that use extreme slow-motion just to show off extreme violence, there's a purpose in using it in "Dredd", so kudos for that. And, yes, the violence is pretty gory at times even for an R-rated film, and it's not a film you want to take a small child to see.

For playing it straight and close to the vest, I give "Dredd" 3 stars, or a grade of B.