Dredd (2012): You Don’t Have to Dread Seeing Dredd!

Let Action Chick go ahead and drop a wisdom bomb on you guys: Dredd is good! Yay! I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve seen a new release that was good, but Dredd entertains with a ton of action and decent story line…nothing like the 1995 Sylvester Stallone movie Judge Dredd. Still not convinced? This film is like The Raid: Redemption, only with two good guys in the fight and a crazy, evil woman as the big bad!

Lena Headey is incredible as the totally evil, totally nutso Ma-Ma,a drug lord who locks two Judges (law enforcement officers) in her 200 story resident building so that they can’t bust her drug operation. She tells the residents of the building that the lock down will end when the two Judges, Dredd (Karl Urban) and Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), are dead, creating 200 floors of residents thirsting for some Judge blood.

Dredd is a good example of how an action film can develop a story while keeping the action going. Though the plot wasn’t complex, enough was there to keep you rooting for the good guys and keep you interested. The action itself kept up a strong pace, complete with occasional bouts of extreme violence.

The only thing I was a little disappointed with was that Ma-Ma wasn’t much of a fighter, nor did she seem particularly bright. She was instead content to send her men to do all the dirty work and relied on her poor toady to come up with ideas to keep the reinforcement Judges off their case. She eventually locks herself in a safe room, and in the film’s climax, makes a very poor attempt to negotiate with Dredd and doesn’t fight him at all. I wanted to see a fight! I guess she just has the attitude and confidence to make other baddies follow her despite her lack of fighting skills or intelligence. Sometimes, all you need is a mean face and a meaner snarl.

That’s not enough to detract from the film though. It was balls-to-the-wall law-fest sure to please fans of the original Judge Dredd comic. Dredd’s portrayal was much more in line with his original character, as he’s a dark, brutal enforcer of the law. Also, Dreddy boy never took off his helmet, and delivered the requisite “I am the law.” with much aplomb. If you’re looking for some heated sci-fi action with a flair for direct story lines and direct violence, you could do a lot worse than Dredd.

Time Until Action: ~ 2 minutes

Action Rating: 5 “I am the law!” out of 5!

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!