Just finished watching ‘Dredd’.

Drokk!  What a blast from the past!!!

‘Dredd’ reminded me of the good old days, when post-apocalyptic films didn’t always require a patronising and mind bending story about the self destructive qualities of humanity or attempt to squeeze a huge array of bland characters (played by ‘B’ list Hollywood stars) into pointless sub-plots.  

In fact,  it reminded me of everything I loved about watching ‘Robocop’ or ‘Escape From New York’ as a kid.  Awesome,  life changing films for me.  

I was a MASSIVE Judge Dredd comic fan growing up (and 2000AD!);  the comics were harsh and gritty in their portrayal of a futuristic ‘civilisation’ which is teetering  on the verge of collapse each and every day. 

I’d religiously spend my holiday money in the 80’s on the comics;  usually purchased from an unsuspecting carrot crunching newsagent in Selsey High Street during the Summer holidays or from the comic shop within the indoor markets down by Reeves Corner in Croydon. 

The trademark Judge Dredd story lines were always violent (yay!!) and laced with a fantastic sense of humour; they were as much tongue in cheek as they were shocking?

I often wonder if the politically reflective Judge Dredd comics would have been published today?   What with the terminal levels of unbalanced political correctness within the UK; expect Lord Vaz to start a crusade to retrospectively ban the comics, you read it here first!

So,  to the plot.

Mega City One is a reluctant oasis within the nuclear wasteland remnants of the United States of America; kept in check by the Judges, men and women who ruthlessly bring justice to those who break the law, without the need for trial or jury. 

I thought it was fantastic how the story of the film completely centres around Judge Dredd and Judge candidate Anderson; it is simply a story about an average day of unrest in Mega City One where Anderson is under Dredds evaluation to become a fully empowered Judge?  

They unwittingly become entangled in a block (a 200 storey tall apartment buildings) gang war where the Ma Ma gang (run by a crazy drugged up former hooker called Ma Ma) are looking to expand their influence in Mega City One using a drug which makes the brain think time has slowed to a fraction of a second.

The time delay drug made think of the effects of ‘cake’  as reported on ‘The Day Today’.   Look it up on YouTube later if you are unfamiliar!

Overall,  I thought the film was fucking fantastic and the no nosense way Dredd ended Ma Ma’s reign showed that the film was all about him.  Loved that.  

Karl Urban is perfect as Dredd and it was awesome seeing him use the full arsenal of the Lawgiver (his gun!).   I also thought Olivia Thirlby was great as the psionic Judge Anderson and look forward to seeing the chemistry between them develop in future films.

What storylines will they nick for sequels?   The ‘Judge Child’  is a good candidate, personally,  I hope they go for Judge Death!  “The ssssseeentennnnce issss deaaaath!”

The 3D Blu-Ray version looks gorgeous and is a must own purchase,  buy it!