The Law Returns. This Time With His Helmet On! Judge Dredd!

HQ for those who want it

 

America. Always found that fact interesting.

 

Mega City One occupies a large chunk of the US north east coast.

i believe it extends from Washington DC to north of New York...

 

Okay, I sound like the sort of nerd I usually bemoan - but an unshaven Dredd? Hmmm.

Other than that, looks pretty perfect, I hasten to add!

 

Looks cool.

Dredd's razor nicked his neck last time he tried to shave, and he convicted it of attempted murder.

 

According to the blurb this is a shot from rehearsals, not footage from the film proper. I expect he'll be clean shaven when he's in full costume and make-up, fret not.

As for the image itself, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. They've clearly toned down the colour pallet, which should work just fine on film and I love that the Lawgiver is almost identical to the current design in the comics. Plus the helmet is spot on...if a little too big. I'm sure it's just a prototype though. Not sure why exactly but I do miss the badge chain. I realise it's only decorative and would probably get in the way during action scenes but it looks odd without it.
They're clearly going for a more functional then decorative design for the uniform, similar in general principle to Nolan's Batman costume. They've really scaled back on the shoulder pads, but then that massive eagle was never going to be practical. Remember how Stallone repeatedly ditched that whole piece at the earliest opportunity? Bloody thing must have been very restrictive.

I think the initial intent was for Dredd to be something of a parody of the hard bitten American anti-heroes of the 70's (Dirty Harry leaps to mind) and post-apocalyptic fiction in general. Of course it's long since evolved FAR beyond that, but I think that was the starting point. Plus who the hell wants to read about post apocalyptic Milton Keynes?

I imagine he'd use something non-specific but broadly American. Not sure if they'll use it at all (the Stallone film only made a token effort) but the vernacular of Mega-City One is pretty unique. Mostly it's the usual trick of invented swear words so they don't get in trouble with the drokking censors...still it'd be nice to hear the odd "stomm" out of the creeps and for Jovis H Grud to get a mention.

 

Looks like a ten yr old wearing dad's helmet. Hope they fix that.

 

That looks way better than the Stallone uniform. That one was a bit too bright. The toned down colors are better.

 

Jovus Drokk, surely?

(for those unfamilair with it all, Grud, Drokk and Stomm were reputedly the first three Troglodyte workers to die in the construction of the city wall, and so were immortalised as the three main curse-words...)

Dredd also notoriously hates beards, so that fuzz on Urban's chin hopefully shouldn't be there on screen

 

^ Yes, I've also read on other sites that this is just a test shot, not actual footage, so he will be smooth-chinned in the movie.

 

Oook, I was afraid of that. Karl just doesn't have the jawline to play Dredd.

And Judge Dredd (what I read of it, it's been years honestly) was definitely set in America.

Mega City One and Mega City Two are festering hellholes of depravity and criminality, while the interior is populated by inbred psycho hillbillies and mutant dinosaurs, providing an perfectly accurate picture of how Blue State America views Red State America and vice versa.

 

I liked Stallone's Dredd.

 

It's funny to think that Urban has played Dr 'Bones' McCoy and now Dredd. You can't imagine DeForest Kelley playing Dredd or Sylvester Stallone as Bones - or either of them as LORT's Eomer!

 

His chin and jawline look fine (minus the stubble), it's just that the test helmet itself is too big and clunky.

 

^As I said, given that it's a test shot the helmet was probably just a prototype, possibly made before he was even cast.

 

That's why I called it a test helmet.

 

Ah, missed the "test" part! That's what happens when you skim read.

 

I agree the helmet look clunky (it's only a test), but even if they went with it, I'd still go see this. Urban was the best actor in ST:XI and could be a great Dredd.

 

Me too. I liked that whole film, in fact. I hope it gets a decent DVD release someday.