THN Turns 11! A Look Back At Our Favourite Films – Dredd (2012)

As with many of the best film discoveries in my life, I went in to see DREDD with low expectations. I’d been invited and figured I might as well go, but the idea of another cinematic crack at the Judge? The scaled-down, rubbery-looking costumes and the prospect of an eyeball-squeezing 3D presentation weren’t enough to attract my interest. Once the lights went down, that all changed. I found myself sealed into a greasy and violent world that lives on in my scorched brainpan to this day. It may not be the greatest movie ever made, but of its type DREDD is a minor classic, evoking the spirit of the book in a way Stallone couldn’t manage whilst building its own gritty, low budget vibe. Of everything I’ve seen at the pictures over the last decade or so, this is the one that surprised and inspired me more than any other.

Story-wise you’re looking at something John Carpenter could have lensed in his salad days. Stripped-down and with the nonsense stamped out of it like a rat in an elevator, the script sets up the premise, the “hero” and the situation in quick succession. It was a great temptation to select a Christopher Nolan film for this celebration as his approach fascinates me, but it’s interesting to compare DREDD to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, which came out around the same time. TDKR was a spectacle and a half and strong meat to boot, but it was also overbaked and shut you out emotionally. In the unlikely setting of Mega-City One you get grabbed by the scruff of the neck before realizing the mire level is already up to your collar.

The action opens with a frantic chase through the streets of the metropolis, introducing Dredd (Karl Urban) as a DIRTY HARRY-style figure who hunts down a feral group of drug addicts by way of MAD MAX. Following this, he is reluctantly paired with the luminous Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie female enforcer looking for experience. So far, so familiar. But Anderson is an unknown quantity, taken on for her psychic ability rather than her aptitude with a gun. It isn’t long before the pair are despatched to Peach Trees, a monolithic tower block ruled over by crime lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). When Ma-Ma decides to put the building on lockdown in order to flush out the Judges, the lawmakers face a brutal fight for survival and the narrative bursts into flames as a taut cat and mouse pulp thriller.

The cleverest thing about the movie is its setting. Rather than seeking to recreate the mindboggling sprawl of a future city, director Pete Travis roots the chase in downtown Johannesburg. This gives the production an unexpected grounding in the here and now, suggesting such a post-apocalyptic nightmare isn’t too far away. The toned-down nature of the Judges’ costumes makes perfect sense and Dredd’s pursuit bike looks like it’s been knocked up by some overzealous mechanics rather than rolled off the factory floor of Harley Davidson. Once Peach Trees becomes an impregnable fortress with Dredd and Anderson trapped inside, screenwriter Alex Garland ramps up the garish comic book tone. Ma-Ma, a damaged ex-prostitute, has realized a sordid empire inside these walls where different rules apply. The ideal opportunity to give John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s concept free rein as the bullets and blood spray across the concrete.

The performances are all good, but it’s Urban’s title character who stands out. He’s playing an emblem as much as a human being, a faceless cure-all for society’s ills. Something you can stand behind as the chaos breaks loose. Yet he is a great choice for the role, possessing the dual qualities I always appreciate in actors – a movie star who can become a character without the audience noticing the shift. In the same way good film music is regarded as invisible, so Urban blends into the universe Travis and Garland have created. The big helmet certainly helps, but he doesn’t need to take it off as his musclebound predecessor did, a simple but bold decision that shows how ballsy the project is. DREDD is effectively an action flick but one with an equal contingent of male and female characters. A psychotic sex worker and a plucky young woman aren’t exactly going to raise the roof in terms of stereotypes, but they show the makers weren’t interested in banging out another testosterone-fuelled lead-fest. When Dredd finally gets his hands on Ma-Ma it’s as violent a confrontation than any slug out between meatheads.

Arguably one of the most powerful aspects of DREDD is its place as an unresolved opening chapter. Garland had designs on a franchise and it’s a crying, snot-squirting shame the numbers weren’t sufficient to carry it into a sequel. A comic book and an unofficial animation have attempted to continue the story but with the years ticking by it looks like this will be the only outing for Urban and company. The demand for more helpings hasn’t diminished in the meantime. Even I considered producing a bit of fan fiction off the back of it. And if I feel the need to inflict my scribblings on a property, you know times are desperate. The film also proved to be one of the rare cases of a 3D screening where the technique garnished what was going on, rather than trying to impress you by throwing cutlery through the screen. Travis and Garland’s invention of the narcotic “slo mo” is a great way of showcasing deadened water droplets and extended death plunges.

As a liberal-minded person who often writes about stuff from the confines of a warm room, right wing fantasies are very interesting to me, from the exploits of Harry Callahan to Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. DREDD is a strong example of this, but hopefully I’ve made the case that there’s intelligence at work as well as a desire to mete out a payload of cold, hard justice. Happy Birthday THN and thank you Judge.

Check out all THN’s favourite films and continue our 11th Birthday celebrations by heading here!