Currently at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Unlikely but true.
For example.
Dredd 3D constantly impresses on a visual level, with a gritty style more akin to cult hits like District 9 or 28 Days Later than to standard Hollywood comic-book blockbusters. The esteemed British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, best known for his Lars Von Trier collaborations and his Oscar-winning work on Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, adds to the project’s overall air of high-level craftsmanship. His first venture into 3D is a blaze of saturated colours, gorgeous high-resolution close-ups and dazzling slow-motion sequences. Imagine the balletic slowed-down carnage of vintage Sam Peckinpah or John Woo, but taken to the next technological level.
Sold!
There’s never been a headline that I expected to see less than this.
I seriously thought it was a joke.
I expected it to be mostly reviews from Joe’s Blog of Over Enthusiastic Genre Film Reviews or something. But no. It’s mostly real people.
Given I expected this to be a tremendous flop, I find this unsettling.
It is genuinely amazing what a great job they’ve done with it, I can’t stop going to see it personally! Totally blown away, easily the most I’ve enjoyed a movie.
Not surprised at all. Judge Dredd always had the ingredients for a superb film adaptation from the get-go. Stallone’s version can now be forgotten as an embarrassing mistake, alongisde the 80s versions of The Punisher and Captain America or fuck-ups like Batman & Robin.
This is the first, legitimate Judge Dredd film. I saw it last week and really enjoyed it (it’s not perfect but does the job it sets out to do very convincingly!).
Also: is this the most creator-friendly film adaptation of a comic? Not only did they change elements of the film and Dredd’s dialogue based on John Wagner’s advice but the film is littered with references to the multitude of artists and writers who have worked on the strip for the last 35+ years, including co-creator Carlos Ezquerra, Kevin O’ Neill, John Hicklenton, letterer Tom Frame and many more. On top of that, the very first thing that pops up in the credits at film’s end is “Based on the character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.” That’s before the director’s name, or the writer or any of the producers.
Now imagine seeing something like that in a Batman or Avengers film…
Can anyone who has seen the film confirm that it is way different and way better than the super boring trailer?
Does Dredd yell at any point in the movie, “I am the Law!!!”
I haven’t seen it myself, but a number of my friends saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and everyone I’ve talked to has given it glowing reviews. Dredd 3D was the first movie from TIFF’s Midnight Madness, which is a series of genre movies played at midnight and now about a week into the film festival I keep hearing about how Dredd is still the best of the bunch.
“Can anyone who has seen the film confirm that it is way different and way better than the super boring trailer?”
Wasn’t a huge fan of the trailer but the film is much tougher and there’s a nice touch of humour in there, as well as a fantastic villain (Lena Headey really is quite creepy). It’s pretty much a perfect popcorn flick. Ooh and a great Carpenter-esque score too.
The TV spot here gives a better impression than the trailer, if you ask me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p7foh3pyHg
Hopefully if there are sequels, they can expand on the world of Mega-City One and bring the action out on to the streets.
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