David Robbins
© 2017
 
We’ve been talking about favorite actors and actresses recently---and one of mine is Karl Urban. You might know him from the reboot of the STAR TREK franchise or DOOM or PRIEST or RED or PATHFINDER or THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK or....well, you get the idea. He’s been in a lot of stuff.

My very favorite thing he’s been in is a movie called DREDD. It’s based on a character known as Judge Dredd from British comics. Sylvester Stallone starred in another movie version years ago. The two are not related.

 [Dredd on his Lawmaster motorcycle from an early scene in the newest movie.]
 
DREDD came out in 2012. It slipped under a lot of radars so this is yours truly, yet again, giving you a heads up. If you enjoy unrelentingly intense action flicks with great acting, DREDD is for you.

Karl Urban plays the character to spot-on perfection. He ‘really’ got into the role, to the extent of going through some heavy physical conditioning and extended weapons training. As if that weren’t enough, he insisted on doing his own stunts, including the motorcycle scenes. He’s also wonderfully adept at conveying emotion with his mouth and his tone. Why does that matter? you ask. Because nearly the entire movie, he wears a helmet. That he does such a masterful job of letting us know his feelings and thoughts is a tribute to his talent.

[Karl Urban as Dredd, wearing the sweetest helmet ever. Boba Fett, eat your heart out.]
 
The movie also stars Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson---sorry, ‘rookie‘ Anderson---and she, too, is terrific. In a cool twist she’s also a mutant. Anderson is paired with Dredd on a pass-or-fail evaluation that finds the pair trapped in a 200-story tower with a legion of baddies out to do them in.
[Olivia Thirlby isn't just 'another pretty face'. She brings considerable gravitas to her role.]

The movie also has Lena Headey and Wood Harris and others, but there’s a case to be made that the third big star is the Lawgiver. No, we’re not talking the wise anthropoid from the original PLANET OF THE APES. The Lawgiver is the name given to the gun the Judges use. The filmmakers actually made working models, in 9mm. The weapons fire a variety of rounds, can be voice activated, and are DNA-specific.
[A Lawgiver. Come on. You know you want one. If only.]

You don’t need to know anything about the Judge Dredd mythos to appreciate the movie. In fact, watching it cold, as it were, might enhance your enjoyment.

Have I mentioned the soundtrack? You know how every now and then you go to a movie and the score blows you away? Say hello to Paul Leonard-Morgan. He’s a Scottish composer. His music for DREDD fits so perfectly, and is so catchy, you might end up doing like I did and buy the CD and listen to it 27 times while writing your latest Mars novel.

On Rotten Tomatoes the movie earned a 78% rating, which is way above average. A lot of moviegoers gave it a ‘B’, which is still above average. Me, I give it an A+++, but then I’m into dark and gritty sprinkled with wry humor. See it for yourself and be your own judge. And jury. And executioner. :)