Cinematic Releases: Dredd

It's not often that an actor becomes the embodiment of his comic book counterpart. With a gruff voice and cold scowl, Karl Urban does just that. He becomes the Judge Dredd that Sylvester Stallone could never possibly be.

Being a fan of the 2000 AD series, I found not only the character to be perfect but the setting and stylized graphics finally help a real Judge Dredd movie materialize. As a whole, this is possibly one of the best comic book adaptations ever brought to screen. The second being Punisher: War Zone. Now, don't get me wrong. I know we've seen other great adaptations, but this is literally a comic book brought to life. This is not a new "realistic" take on Dredd (i.e. The Dark Knight), it is a manifestation of the fictional environment in which the character existed in book form and is now a highly detailed, stunning blood festival of bullets, bad guys, and a post armageddon world gone volatile.

Dredd may seem extremely familiar to people that have just seen The Raid: Redemption. The story is extremely similar while maintaining enough originality to keep the naysayers at bay. However, I was a bit surprised that their weren't some rewrites done to further the two film's shocking likenesses. Maybe it was just pure coincidence. I'm not sure.

Dredd is an exaggerated, non-stop feast of carnage that never lets up until the credits roll. And, it's a damn good time. After the terrible 1995 Judge Dredd, I wasn't sure that the franchise could be reinvigorated. It was. This is one of the first comic book movies that nails it. The actor was right. The setting was right. The violence was right. Now, let's see what they do with a sequel.