Judge Dredd: Review By Shelley

THE CAST: The casting for this film was fantastic, it includes; Sylvester Stallone, Armad Assante, Rob Schneider, Jürgen Prochnow, Max von Sydow and Diane Lane. Everyone was excellent and seemed to really enjoy being a part of this film.

DIRECTION, CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS: Photography and special effects were some of the best in 1995. Bright and colorful costumes and scenery make this a pleasure to watch. Even though it is a ‘dark’ film, at some points the cinematography can be striking.

The director, Danny Cannon, was nominated for Sci-Fi Universe Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for Best Director. I believe he deserved to at least be nominated for a few more awards due to his apparent talent. He has mainly directed and produced television shows (CSI, Eleventh Hour, etc.), but he will have a major movie, Dark Blue with Dylan McDermott, released later this year.

THE GOOD: The enjoy ability and addictiveness of this film are the best things about it. Yes I did say addictiveness. It is one of those films that you know is not a great film, but are drawn to it over and over. It is just pure fun to watch and is filled with sci-fi action.

I had originally rated Judge Dredd three stars, but I was just going down my DVD list rating the films I had seen. I have since watched the film, twice, and realize it deserves a better rating.

THE BAD: One of the problems with this film is it was overly edited to the point of feeling cut-up at times. Had they allowed it to go another fifteen minutes, maybe it would not have been so harshly criticized.

THE STORY (may contain spoilers): It is the year 2139 and the earth is over populated. Most of Earth’s population are in what is termed as ‘Mega Cities’. These cities are so overcrowded that they have become too violent for a regular justice system. So a new system was created, Judges (Police, Jury and executioner). The toughest and most formidable Judge is Judge Dredd (Stallone). Dredd is arrested for murder. He is tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Will he be able to prove his innocence and clear his name? Will he be able to handle the secrets of his past? Who can he turn to for help and who framed him for murder?

EXTRAS: Standard DVD – I really do not consider any of the following special features.

Dolby Digital 5.1 audio

French-language track

Theatrical trailer

Chapter search

REPLAY VALUE: As mentioned above, this film is addictive to me. Therefore it has above average replay value.

BOTTOM LINE: Many think this film did terrible at the box office and maybe domestically it did, but worldwide it made over $113 million ($34 domestically and $79 foreign). It had a production cost of $90 million so a profit of $23 million in 1995 was not bad. I am really looking forward to the remake to be released in 2010. It will be interesting who they choose as cast members.

I can appreciate all the haters of this film, but I happen to enjoy it and watch it often. Never read the comics so I did not have anything to compare it too and I am unsure if that makes a difference or not. I have read several complaints that in the comic book Dredd never took his helmet off and in the movie it is off more than it is on. Regardless of if it is on or off, it did not change the story and I think him having his helmet off made for a better film. I could not imagine an entire film with a lead character never removing his helmet. I try not to compare any adapted film to their written work and suggest if you watch this film you do the same. Just sit down, relax and have fun with it.

Thanks for reading.