Ok I'll admit it, I was a big fan of the Comic books and not so keen on the Stallone version of Judge Dredd so the recently released Dredd 3D was something I really wanted to be good, but would it be?
In Dredd 3D America is a waste land ravaged by radiation, in the middle of this waste land sits Mega City One which, as the name suggests, is a very big (mega) city.
Suffering from high crime rates the only form of justice are the judges, armour clad police who are quite literally judge jury and executioner. Justice is instant, there are no courts and no legal trickery to get the guilty free, the judges decide your fate when they catch you and it's as simple as that.The most feared of these judges is Judge Dredd, he sees the law as black and white. To him there is only guilty or not guilty and even the best excuse in the world won't change his mind if he finds someone guilty.
Tasked with taking a trainee judge out to test if she is ready for active duty Dredd and the rookie, a mutant named Anderson, respond to a grizzly multiple homicide in one of the cities huge towers where thousands of people live and work.
Unfortunately for the judges this particular two hundred storey tower is home to some very nasty characters headed by the drug queen Ma Ma who has her own reasons for wanting the two judges dead.
And so, as a result, the building is locked down and no one can go in or out until her order to kill them is carried out.
Cue two hours of non stop action, plenty of impressive 3D sequences and of course the well known Dredd 'catch phrase' "I AM the law".
Fans will be happy to know that this is not in any way like the light hearted Stallone version, there are a few stern faced one liners of course but nothing to make you laugh out loud or worse still to make you groan.
No, this is definitely Judge Dredd for grown ups.
There is a lot of blood, lots of gory killing of the guilty, a serviceable plot, some enjoyable 3D set pieces and of course plenty of action.
Yes you read that right, the story is serviceable, not great but not rubbish either. It is clearly there to set up lots of action and it does so very well, it doesn't introduce noticeable plot holes, it tells us what we need to know and who the bad guys are and it doesn't bore the viewer.
Basically it does what any good action film ought to do, set up a hero and a villain and then set them against each other.
Karl Urban is exactly as you'd expect Dredd to be, he looks the part and he gets straight into dispensing justice in the way only Dredd can. Lena Headey is far from her normal self in the movie. Gone, well obscured, are her good looks but as usual she still plays the role of a strong independent woman very well and does a good job as the films big bad guy Ma Ma, well the films big bad girl.
It's surprisingly hard to fault the film, the action is constant, the actors all do a good job, the special effects are very well done and despite not having a plot that will win any Oscars it certainly doesn't bore and it won't have you looking at your watch and wondering how much longer it's on for.
The 3D is great in some key scenes (most notably the scenes involving the use of the slow mo drug), but there are some scenes that don't look really amazing in it but then that is probably the only negative thing to say about the film from the point of view of a fan of the action genre.
Dredd is a film for those who like lots of action, or who grew up reading the comic books. It is a fun no holds barred action movie that will easily keep you entertained right up to the end titles and for those who are fans of the character already this is a film that delivers the Judge Dredd we know and love.
