If you're one of these fans who insists that a film stick entirely to a comic, then you may not enjoy this, quite like a Batman fan refuses to watch Dark Knight because Joker doesn't fall into a vat of acid.
But if you want a nice simple action fest with a cool comic book character then this film is great. And filmed beautifully on a tight budget of just $45m.
Firstly, Karl Urban plays a mean, moody, unforgiving Dredd, just as he was in the comics. The helmet looks so much better than Stallones, and as promised, not once do we see his face. His uniform, though not true to the comics, looks better in a real life situation; instead of Lycra with a couple of shoulder pads, this guy wears full body armour, but still sticks to the green boots and gloves. His lawgiver looks quite small for a gun that packs such a punch, this may be the only real flaw to him. His voice, loses itself from time to time, ranging from clean when speaking loudly, to reverting back to it's raspy lost-my-voice mode when speaking in lower tones and delivering a beautifully portrayed "I am the law" line.
Olivia is great as Judge Anderson on her first day, who begins a little like Hermione Granger, a know it all, but due to her experience on her first day, becomes hardened, and learns to judge more on a situation and emotional level than by the book, which strangely, Dredd approves of. This may be one of the few flaws of the film.
The city itself, a little untrue to the comics in the sense of claustrophobia. Instead of Massive towers all piled next to each other, there are only a few, and far between. This was supposedly for an audience to get a feel for the size of the Mega Blocks, where the vast majority of the film takes place. Inside the block, the scenery becomes repetitive and boring, but suits the dark mood of the film.
As does the black humour and violence. This is certainly not a film to watch if you're squeamish. The gore is not concentrated on unless it involves the main characters. The SLO-MO effect was not over used but the badly done 3D took away from it, and I much look forward to seeing it again without the 3D.
All in all, without nit picking, this was a good film for those who don't want to be mind boggled and don't want a film that sticks so close to the comics, it's laid back, it's gruesome, it's fun, and it works. 7 out of 10 from me.
But if you want a nice simple action fest with a cool comic book character then this film is great. And filmed beautifully on a tight budget of just $45m.
Firstly, Karl Urban plays a mean, moody, unforgiving Dredd, just as he was in the comics. The helmet looks so much better than Stallones, and as promised, not once do we see his face. His uniform, though not true to the comics, looks better in a real life situation; instead of Lycra with a couple of shoulder pads, this guy wears full body armour, but still sticks to the green boots and gloves. His lawgiver looks quite small for a gun that packs such a punch, this may be the only real flaw to him. His voice, loses itself from time to time, ranging from clean when speaking loudly, to reverting back to it's raspy lost-my-voice mode when speaking in lower tones and delivering a beautifully portrayed "I am the law" line.
Olivia is great as Judge Anderson on her first day, who begins a little like Hermione Granger, a know it all, but due to her experience on her first day, becomes hardened, and learns to judge more on a situation and emotional level than by the book, which strangely, Dredd approves of. This may be one of the few flaws of the film.
The city itself, a little untrue to the comics in the sense of claustrophobia. Instead of Massive towers all piled next to each other, there are only a few, and far between. This was supposedly for an audience to get a feel for the size of the Mega Blocks, where the vast majority of the film takes place. Inside the block, the scenery becomes repetitive and boring, but suits the dark mood of the film.
As does the black humour and violence. This is certainly not a film to watch if you're squeamish. The gore is not concentrated on unless it involves the main characters. The SLO-MO effect was not over used but the badly done 3D took away from it, and I much look forward to seeing it again without the 3D.
All in all, without nit picking, this was a good film for those who don't want to be mind boggled and don't want a film that sticks so close to the comics, it's laid back, it's gruesome, it's fun, and it works. 7 out of 10 from me.