Judge Dredd 2012 movie.

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Trekker4747, Dec 16, 2013.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    I've heard that if they had done sequels to the '12 movie, they would've brought in more of the wild fantasy elements of the comics. I think they wanted the first film to ease audiences into the universe, kind of like how Iron Man was more grounded than the later Marvel films.
     
  2. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2008
    Yes and no - originals yes, the "middle" - no - more recent returns to originals - yes.
     
  3. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Location:
    UK
    As JoeZhang said above, the comics have never been of a consistent tone. When taken as a whole, they're all over the place, but within the confines of a single story, it's usually pretty damn consistent. It should be noted however that even in the really out there wacky comedy stories, though his function within the narrative can vary, Dredd is always characterised the same. Regardless of whether he's up against drug dealing street gangs, serial killers, body-snatching hairpieces from outer space or a blatant Dr Who parody. He's always "Dredd."

    Personally I thought the Stallone movie did quite well for about the first 15-20 minutes. And no, it's not just because he takes his helmet off after that point, that's just a symptom of a larger problem.

    As I see it, the core problem is that the film-makers fundamentally misunderstood the two main characters from the comics. The first being of course Dredd himself. In the film, Stallone isn't playing Dredd, he's playing Stallone dressed up as Dredd. There's a lot more to old Joe than a stern grimace and shouting "I AM THE LAAAAUUWW!!!" at people.

    Now the second main character---nope, not Rico. No, not Hurshey either. Fargo? No. Mean Macine? Uh...no! The second main character from the comics is Mega City One. Indeed in a lot of ways, the Meg and it's denizens are the real stars of the comics while Dredd is for the most part a lenses through which we observe them.

    Now the Stallone film decided to tell a very Hollywood (yet oddly Shakespearian) origin story/heroes journey against the backdrop of a distopian sci-fi setting. Thus totally missing the point and approaching the whole thing backwards.

    'Dredd (2012)' made neither of these mistakes. Urban put in as faithful a performance as anyone could ask for and the city and it's citizens were front and centre the whole time.