Summary
In the streaming era, movies seem to come and go with each passing month. It’s important to catch stuff while it’s available, because you never know when it might come through again. Each new month always brings a bevvy of new options to watch, both streaming originals and older properties that viewers might have missed the first time around. On February 1st, buried in the glut of newly added shows and movies, Max has added one of the most underrated comic book movies of the century so far.
That would beDredd,the 2012 film directed by Pete Travis and based on theJudge Dreddcomic series from the British anthology2000 AD.Unlike a lot of modern-day comic book movies,Dredddoesn’t require deep knowledge of character lore, or in fact any advance knowledge at all. Those who are unfamiliar with its comic incarnation can enjoy the exploits of the titular character in this hyper-violent sci-fi action flick. For fans of those kinds of movies who missed it upon its release,it’s a must-watch.
What isDredd?
Set in the year 2080,Dredddepicts a dystopian world known as Cursed Earth, where surviving humans live in massive, sprawling mega-cities. In Mega-City One, crime is out of control, leading to the creation of a police state. Justice is carried out by heavily armed individuals known as Judges, who have the freedom to dispense punishment as they see fit. One such Judge is Judge Dredd (The Boys’Karl Urban), a by-the-book veteran who is tasked with training new recruit Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a cadet who keeps failing her exams but possesses psychic abilities.
The two head to a skyscraper slum called the Peach Trees to investigate the deaths of three low-level drug dealers, who were found skinned alive and pushed from the tower. All signs point to the handiwork of Ma-Ma (Game of Thrones’Lena Headey), the tower’s resident drug kingpin. As Dredd and Cassandra attempt to raid the drug den, Ma-Ma has the tower locked down. The two must fight for their lives as they work their way up the tower’s many levels, fighting off henchmen along the way. In this way, the story is similar to the acclaimedIndonesian action filmThe Raid: Redemptionfrom the previous year, where cops have to fight their way through a dilapidated apartment building to raid a drug den.
Dreddtouches on the concept of a dystopian police state where law enforcement has unchecked power to kill at will, but it’s not a political movie by any means. At the end of the day,Dreddstrives to be a grim and gritty sci-fi action movie with flashes of humor, and it delivers on all those fronts.
WhyDreddDeserves More Attention
Dreddwas fairly well-received when it came out, garnering an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and considered by critics to be a vast improvement over its predecessor, the 1995Sylvester Stallone vehicleJudge Dredd.In the decade-plus since its release, it certainly has its fans, but has largely been overlooked in the comic book movie conversation. Part of this may come down to the fact that it was released during what was arguably the height of Marvel’s dominance of the comic movie conversation, coming out the same year asThe Avengers.Marvel’s first few films did big business, butThe Avengerswas something of a turning point for the franchise, kicking off the most successful superhero movie saga of all time and taking comic book cinema in a more sophisticated, epic direction.
Dredd,by contrast, is a more modest movie. It’s not trying to tie into some vast cinematic universe or set up an extended franchise (though sequels have been discussed off and on over the years). Rather, it tells a self-contained story set in an established world. Stripped of its connection to the comics, it could easily be a straightforward action movie with a sci-fi bent. This isn’t a weakness, but actually a part of what makes it stand out from the vast array of other comics adaptations. Audiences in 2012 hadn’t yet had a chance to grow weary of the MCU’s ever-expanding world. A more small-scale comic book movie might have been overshadowed by its grand scale competitors at the time, but it makesDreddfeel even more special in hindsight.
Dreddalso has the benefit of being a very well-made movie, with a slick visual style that depicts Mega City One as a sprawling concrete jungle that lacks any sense of comfort or joy.Judge Dreddis a grim and violent source material, and the filmmakers were able to stay true to that spirit while delivering a satisfying film in its own right.
A big part of this also comes down to the film’s screenwriter, Alex Garland, who had written scripts for28 Days LaterandSunshinefor Danny Boyle, and was fresh off the latter when he began work onDredd.Garland would go on to become one of thebest genre filmmakers in the business, writing and directingmodern classics likeEx Machina,Annihilation,andlast year’sCivil War,a very different kind of future dystopia. Garland is one of the best at elevated but still highly entertaining genre stories, and his script forDreddhas his signature combination of smarts and thrills.
Dreddmight not reach the heights of some of Garland’s other projects, but it’s a lean-and-mean, undeniably fun action movie that should please sci-fi and action fans alike. Curious viewers with a Max subscription would do well to check it out soon, because with the current state of streaming, there’s no telling how long it’ll be available.
