I like a good action movie now and then. In general I prefer the bare-knuckle brawling type of action film (give me a good Jet Li movie and I’m perfectly happy) to the shooting-and-blowing-stuff-up type of action film, but there’s room in my heart for both. All I ask is a bit of style, a charismatic villain (and hero, as well, if it can be managed), and a script that doesn’t assume I’m all oatmeal north of the eyebrows.
Well, Dredd’s got all that. Style in particular just drips off of this thing. The great Anthony Dod Mantle did the cinematography, and he and the art department deserve a tremendous amount of credit. The film looks great, and the landscapes (entirely CG) and sets (mostly CG) are interesting at worst, and in places absolutely breathtaking. The violence is balletic in this, as well. The use of slow-motion, which can be overdone and grating this days, is not only done better than in, say, a Guy Ritchie film, but also makes more narrative sense because of the drug that’s at the center of the story. I really regret that I couldn’t afford to see this in theaters, in 3-D, when it first came out. I know that a lot of people think of 3-D as a gimmick, and it's unpopular in certain circles. In some cases I get that; 3-D where things jump out of the screen at you is pretty gimmicky, but there's a better use of 3-D that immerses you in the experience instead, and that can really improve a film. I get the impression that Dredd's 3-D was that latter kind, and I bet it would have earned the film an extra star.
Charismatic villains? Wood Harris is very good as the dealer, Kay, whose arrest sets the whole plot in motion. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a deep character (the movie wouldn’t support that) and exists mostly to give Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) someone to play against, but he’s still interesting. And Lena Headey as Ma-Ma, the leader of the gang that runs the tower block where the film is set, is extremely good. She isn’t terribly well-written (more on that in a moment), but she takes what she’s given and runs with it. She resists the temptation to play Ma as an over-the-top caricature, which is refreshing. She’s just remorseless, fearless, brilliant, and evil. Plus, she gets a really beautiful death at the end of the film. Headey as an actress is always at her best when she’s frightening, and in this movie she’s exactly that.
Outside of Kay and Ma the bad guys are more of a mixed bag (though it might be too much to ask for second-string villains to be interesting). The crooked judges who come after Dredd don’t really have much to recommend them, but for one last obstacle on the way to Ma, they’re serviceable. Also, Ma’s second in command, Caleb (Warrick Grier), seems like he might have been interesting if he’d had more screen time. As it is, he just shoots a few guys and then gets thrown off a balcony. Bit of a waste, that. And I liked Brendan Gleeson’s son Domhnall (not a misprint) as Ma’s tech guy, who is a slave rather than a flunkie or co-conspirator. The character is really utterly pathetic. He actually squeals when Dredd grabs him. It’s the first I’ve seen of the kid, but he might have an interesting career ahead of him.
Heroes? Well, Dredd isn’t supposed to have a lot of personality, is he? Karl Urban is one of my guys, I love him in everything, and he does some damned fine chin-acting in this. There were moments where I got the impression that he was trying to make his mouth look like Sylvester Stallone’s, but I could be wrong about that. He does a good job, but Thirlby, as the psychic trainee Anderson, is more interesting. Her interactions with Kay are the best non-action scenes in the film, and she has the only emotional moments that make any sense. As with Gleeson, this is the first time I've seen her, but I'll keep an eye out for her in future.
The script? Well, the story itself is strong enough, and there’s some good dialog in this, but unfortunately the writers seem to have spent so much time giving Kay, Dredd, and Anderson good lines that there just weren’t any left over for Ma. She speaks mostly in clichés, I’m afraid. At one point they actually make her say “You’re a real piece of work, Dredd,” which just made me cringe. She rises above it, but if I could change one thing about this movie, it would be a re-write of her lines. Outside of that, though, there aren't any really embarrassing moments. I admit to a problem with the last scene, though: once they've emerged alive from Peach Trees, Anderson assumes she's failed the assessment. She hands her badge to Dredd and walks away. But...she's psychic, right? She should know that he's going to pass her. Oh, well...doesn't hurt the film any.
So, yeah, a good solid action film. I can definitely see myself buying it. Also, if I ever meet anyone who has a 3-D television set, I’m totally going over there to see this. I really think this must have looked amazing in theaters. I’m not sure why it didn’t do better business; I’d like to blame Stallone. But I’m hoping that it’ll do well enough on home video to justify a sequel with this same crew. Next time I’ll be there opening day, if I have to sell blood plasma to do it.
BEST THING ABOUT THE FILM: Headey's introduction, where she's in the bath, on the drug, watvhing the water drip from her arms like tiny crystals. It's gorgeous, even without the 3D. This movie's all about style, and this scene has a ton of it.
WORST THING ABOUT THE FILM: “You’re a real piece of work, Dredd.” Seriously? Yes, seriously. Good heavens.
PUNCH THE AIR MOMENT: “Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law.” That line scared the hell out of the cat, because of course when I heard it I jumped up and cheered.
SCORE: 7/10
LISTS: #18 on my Favorites of the Teens (so far)
Well, Dredd’s got all that. Style in particular just drips off of this thing. The great Anthony Dod Mantle did the cinematography, and he and the art department deserve a tremendous amount of credit. The film looks great, and the landscapes (entirely CG) and sets (mostly CG) are interesting at worst, and in places absolutely breathtaking. The violence is balletic in this, as well. The use of slow-motion, which can be overdone and grating this days, is not only done better than in, say, a Guy Ritchie film, but also makes more narrative sense because of the drug that’s at the center of the story. I really regret that I couldn’t afford to see this in theaters, in 3-D, when it first came out. I know that a lot of people think of 3-D as a gimmick, and it's unpopular in certain circles. In some cases I get that; 3-D where things jump out of the screen at you is pretty gimmicky, but there's a better use of 3-D that immerses you in the experience instead, and that can really improve a film. I get the impression that Dredd's 3-D was that latter kind, and I bet it would have earned the film an extra star.
Charismatic villains? Wood Harris is very good as the dealer, Kay, whose arrest sets the whole plot in motion. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a deep character (the movie wouldn’t support that) and exists mostly to give Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) someone to play against, but he’s still interesting. And Lena Headey as Ma-Ma, the leader of the gang that runs the tower block where the film is set, is extremely good. She isn’t terribly well-written (more on that in a moment), but she takes what she’s given and runs with it. She resists the temptation to play Ma as an over-the-top caricature, which is refreshing. She’s just remorseless, fearless, brilliant, and evil. Plus, she gets a really beautiful death at the end of the film. Headey as an actress is always at her best when she’s frightening, and in this movie she’s exactly that.
Outside of Kay and Ma the bad guys are more of a mixed bag (though it might be too much to ask for second-string villains to be interesting). The crooked judges who come after Dredd don’t really have much to recommend them, but for one last obstacle on the way to Ma, they’re serviceable. Also, Ma’s second in command, Caleb (Warrick Grier), seems like he might have been interesting if he’d had more screen time. As it is, he just shoots a few guys and then gets thrown off a balcony. Bit of a waste, that. And I liked Brendan Gleeson’s son Domhnall (not a misprint) as Ma’s tech guy, who is a slave rather than a flunkie or co-conspirator. The character is really utterly pathetic. He actually squeals when Dredd grabs him. It’s the first I’ve seen of the kid, but he might have an interesting career ahead of him.
Heroes? Well, Dredd isn’t supposed to have a lot of personality, is he? Karl Urban is one of my guys, I love him in everything, and he does some damned fine chin-acting in this. There were moments where I got the impression that he was trying to make his mouth look like Sylvester Stallone’s, but I could be wrong about that. He does a good job, but Thirlby, as the psychic trainee Anderson, is more interesting. Her interactions with Kay are the best non-action scenes in the film, and she has the only emotional moments that make any sense. As with Gleeson, this is the first time I've seen her, but I'll keep an eye out for her in future.
The script? Well, the story itself is strong enough, and there’s some good dialog in this, but unfortunately the writers seem to have spent so much time giving Kay, Dredd, and Anderson good lines that there just weren’t any left over for Ma. She speaks mostly in clichés, I’m afraid. At one point they actually make her say “You’re a real piece of work, Dredd,” which just made me cringe. She rises above it, but if I could change one thing about this movie, it would be a re-write of her lines. Outside of that, though, there aren't any really embarrassing moments. I admit to a problem with the last scene, though: once they've emerged alive from Peach Trees, Anderson assumes she's failed the assessment. She hands her badge to Dredd and walks away. But...she's psychic, right? She should know that he's going to pass her. Oh, well...doesn't hurt the film any.
So, yeah, a good solid action film. I can definitely see myself buying it. Also, if I ever meet anyone who has a 3-D television set, I’m totally going over there to see this. I really think this must have looked amazing in theaters. I’m not sure why it didn’t do better business; I’d like to blame Stallone. But I’m hoping that it’ll do well enough on home video to justify a sequel with this same crew. Next time I’ll be there opening day, if I have to sell blood plasma to do it.
BEST THING ABOUT THE FILM: Headey's introduction, where she's in the bath, on the drug, watvhing the water drip from her arms like tiny crystals. It's gorgeous, even without the 3D. This movie's all about style, and this scene has a ton of it.
WORST THING ABOUT THE FILM: “You’re a real piece of work, Dredd.” Seriously? Yes, seriously. Good heavens.
PUNCH THE AIR MOMENT: “Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law.” That line scared the hell out of the cat, because of course when I heard it I jumped up and cheered.
SCORE: 7/10
LISTS: #18 on my Favorites of the Teens (so far)
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