It's Judgement time!...

On July 21st 1995, a dark shadow was cast across the world, a vile taint in the form of Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone.  Many people have spent many an hour lamenting the many failings of this film, for me it saw the ruination of a comic book legend.

The removal of Dredd's helmet has to be by far the biggest error in the film.  The reasoning that they wanted to humanise the character is laughable.  Dredd is the law, unyielding, unsympathetic, hard.  He doesn't do sentiment or romance.
Rob Schneider creates 'the sidekick'.  A character we will have to endure forever more.  For those who haven't seen it, think Shia LaBeouf in I, Robot or Constantine.  Thanks Rob....thanks a lot.

17 years, 1 month and 17 days later.....

(that's a long time by the way)

Dredd is back on our screens, under the guise of Karl Urban.  Needless to say I was very excited about this, and whilst for previous big releases (Avengers Assemble for example) I have been nervous about how good a job will have been done, this time I was not.  Nothing could be worse than the Dredd of 1995, and the wait was finally over to have something to replace it.

The film is spectacular.  Action packed, dark, gruesome, unapologetically brutal, and fun throughout.  When leaving the cinema my first thought was how well it worked as a complete and self contained film.  Whilst Alex Garland (screen writer) has gone on record saying that they have worked on, and would like to do multiple films, nothing was left in reserve.  No 'you're going to have to wait until next time' bits.  That is the stand out point of this film that makes it not just good, but great.

***Here come the SPOILERS***

They do this with the angle of it just being another day in Mega City One.  Just a day on patrol for the Judges.  It just so happens on this day they run in to Ma Ma Madrigal and a Mega Block full of drug crazed cronies.  The main elements are introduced, The Cursed Earth, Mega City One, The Hall of Justice, Dredd, Anderson, and then their day unfolds.  There is no drawn out attempt to give needless back story to try and score points with the fans, they just get down to business.

Then they walk away.  Maybe for another day, maybe not.  I hope they do, but that's because I'm a huge fan.  But not because I need a sequel to explain some part of the film, or fill in any blanks.

Then there's Dredd the character.  First of all, bravo Karl Urban.  The man is a hero and a legend.  Through his portrayal of Dredd, we get one of the best realisations of a comic book that has ever been released.  The biggest compliment that I could pay to Karl is that he does such a good job, it could be anyone under that helmet.  You get 100% Dredd.  No bullshit, no softening of the edges, no sentiment, and definitely no romance.  Karl Urban's Dredd kicks ass, dispenses justice, and delivers great one liners.  All with the signature grimace.

Even walking out of Peach Trees at the end of the film, ragged, shot and bloody, all Dredd has to say about the experience is "the perps were uncooperative".

Bad....ass.....

Dredd was always going to get a small fanfare in the UK cinemas.  When I went to see it on opening weekend it was only on one of the cinema's smaller screens.  Unfortunately, it has had an equally poor reception in the US.  Having only has a modest $50 Million budget, it has only grossed $10 Million (ish) worldwide at the cinema so far.  I sincerely hope that things pick up, and it also has a surge once it gets it's DVD/BluRay release.  We need more films like this.

Whether you have seen Dredd yet or not.  Spread the word.  This is a great film, a type of which you very rarely see at the cinema anymore.  Great, solid, action packed and fun throughout, and aimed unapologetically at adults.  We need to get behind it.

WATCH IT....THEN TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!

The curse of 2 step verification...

Like millions of others last weekend, I was like a kid at Christmas with my new iPhone.  Due to my complete lack of patience, I started a new number, abandoning my previous number of several years.  I'd only just stopped getting phone calls for someone named Pete!  From what I could gather from my many conversations he was an electrician who worked in and around the South Yorkshire area.

So I get my new phone up and running, and I start using my email app to find I'm prompted for my email password to my Gmail account.  I enter it.  Nothing.  I go online and try to log in from the website, and I'm informed that a verification code has been text to my old number.

Oh yeah, I set up 2 step verification.....bugger.

Not a problem, I'll just put my old sim into my new phone, and....ah....nano sim, not micro sim.

Still no problem, 6 years in the mobile industry, sim cards are easy to change.  Go into the shop, buy a sim, and I'm told all it takes is a phone call to connect it.  That seems reasonable, no sense in the advisor wasting their time when I can make the phone call myself.  15 minutes on hold, give them all my details, and....we can't change your sim like that.  We have to send you a sim in the post, ok, I'll roll with it.  Get them sim in the post, now it's time to rock and roll.  Nope, I have to activate online....then wait up to 48 hours.

2 step verification....removed.

I wouldn't mind so much, but during this time, I've seen Dredd and by god do I want to blog about it!

So now I'm back in the land of the technological living, I think it goes without saying that my next post will be about Dredd.

What's next after Dredd?

Judgement is coming....(again)

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Stallone's outing as Dredd in '95.  So for me, there is a real possibility of a great, new beginning for this amazing character on the big screen.
A number of plot details are available, still a month away from it's theatrical release, and much has been made of it's unrelenting, brutal visual styling.  All that remains is how it's received by audiences.

Alex Garland, writer and producer of Dredd, has already said there's more to come.  If Dredd takes enough at the box office, what might we have to look forward to?

Judge Death:


Undoubtedly the most anticipated character from the 200AD universe, Judge Death is a character who originated from the alternate universe 'Deadworld' which he himself created.  Son of a psychopathic dentist, he began killing at a young age, starting with 3 school bullies.  He became a Judge so he was able to kill people legally.  His enthusiasm for which earning him the nickname of Judge Death.  His psychosis lead him to believe that as all crime was committed by the living, life itself was a crime.  Spawning his vision of 'total justice' (the extermination of all life), and catchphrase "The crime is life, the sentence death!".
Once finished extinguishing all life in his world, Judge Death made crossed over to Mega City One and made several attempts to do the same there.  There is even crossover with Gotham City.

There are so many great stories and characters surrounding Judge Death, that it almost seems impossible that a studio would not want to go there.

Necropolis:

Having been saved from Ma-Ma in Dredd, could this be the next peril to befall Mega City One?  The Necropolis story arc sees Mega City One captured by Judge Death and his fellow Dark Judges.  It also sees Dredd fall from grace, making for a perfect third act triumphant return that equates to box office gold.  If you want a great introduction to Dredd and 2000AD, check this story out (progs 674-699).

The Dark Judges:

Judge Death is just one of four Dark Judges, all of who are seriously bad ass (the others being Judge Mortis, Judge Fear, and Judge Fire).  Themselves Judges from an alternate universe, the other Dark Judges are all devoted to Death's ideals and cause.  Whilst Death makes the dimensional jump to Mega City One first, his subsequent defeat means the others shortly follow.  A formidable adversary of Dredd and all life in Mega City One, there's also ample opportunity for a Dark Judges origins story.

Cynics might call it money making tactics, I call it exciting times ahead.  Who knows, Dredd's popularity could see The Dark Knight and Dredd join forces to save Gotham? (see Judgement on Gotham)

Come on Karl, Alex and crew, do Dredd proud!

The return of The Law

Thursday saw the release of the first full length trailer of the upcoming reboot of Judge Dredd, titled 'Dredd'.  If you haven't watched it yet, catch it below:

http://youtu.be/PifvRiHVSCY?hd=1

Firstly, and most importantly, there's no sign of Dredd removing his helmet.  Beyond that, I think that this is looking impressive, and has the chance of being a surprise hit this year.  Gone is the cheesy, vibrance, and neon of the '95 version.  Replaced by a gritty, near future realism.
The uniform/body armour looks functional, having taken it's toned down cues from what was achieved in Captain America.  With regards to the helmet, and the thinking that it is too big, I think it looks fine and the outfit overall is just right.

Lena Headey is looking particularly bad ass, and complete with facial scars as Ma-Ma.  Striking just the right balance of sex appeal and villainy.

It also appears as though the 'Lawgiver', complete with user selectable ammunition remains in some form.  We see bullets for the most part, but a rather spectacular shot of what looks like some kind of cluster missile which I'm sure will result in the demise of a great many bad guys.

The story won't set the world on fire, the plot is going to be pretty straight forward.  Trapped in a city block, 2 Judges against a multitude of bad guys, fight their way to freedom/victory.  Similar to the recent The Raid.  You could argue that it leaves little in the way of twists, but for me I just want it to be a strong first outing, and a set up for more Dredd films to come.

And would it be complete without the muttering of those immortal words...

'I am The Law'  (check it out @ 2:01)

I am the LAW!

The reboot of Judge Dredd is not far away now.  A great character that I am looking forward to seeing (I won't say again, but we'll come to that in a moment), especially as Karl Urban is stepping into the lead role.  I'm confident he will make a great job of giving Judge Dredd the big screen outing he deserves.

As you may, or may not, know, Dredd had a previous outing courtesy of Sylvester Stallone.

Before we go any further, let's not forget that Dredd originally came to us via the Great British comic anthology 2000 AD.  He's a law enforcement officer in a violent city who has the power to take on the role of judge, jury and executioner.  Dealing out a lethal brand of justice as he sees fit.  For someone who has no super powers, this guys is the ultimate bad ass!  This guy has even taken on Aliens, yes the very same acid for blood ones we know and love from the famous film franchise.

Imagine my horror when watching the 1995 outing.  The bloody things a show tune or two away from being a sodding musical!  Don't even get me started on the Angel Gang, Mean Machine Angel...well, it's just not right I tell you.

Luckily by the end of the year, things will be set right.  Judge Dredd will be The Law once more.