Review: 'Dredd' (3D) is a 'bloody' loud watch

Film: Dredd (3D)
Director: Pete Travis
Cast: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey
Rating: **

First up a confession needs to be made, this reviewer has never read the original comic series that Dredd is based on and has not seen Judge Dredd, the 1995 adaptation. This review is based solely on how Dredd works as a film on its own.

Dredd is for a very specific audience. Action lovers, think twice before watching this film. Its not just kicks, punches and gun shots we are dealing with here, we are talking about high powered guns which blow out people's brains and that too in slow motion where you get a frame by frame visual of the bullet entering the temple, blood spattering everywhere and bits of skin, brains and muscle flying around. It's a regular gore lollapalooza.

In a futuristic city “Mega-City One”, where law and order have all, but crumbled -- cops (now called judges) act as judge, jury and executioner -- we meet the stoic and fearsome Judge Dredd (Karl Urban).

What follows, is a blood and guts fest as the audience is trapped along with Dredd and a psychic rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) in Peach Tree as they try to take down the “Ma-Ma” gang involved in the manufacturing of an illegal drug called “slo-mo” that literally reduces the sensation of reality to 1% of its usual speed.

With the iconic helmet firmly planted on his head, Urban's performance is restricted to his mouth and chin. His emotion-less portrayal of the character is mostly appropriate but tends to be comical at times, with his permanent frown and gruff voice, that is strongly reminiscent of Christian Bale's Batman. Thirlby as Anderson is a far cry from her character in Juno, but she plays her part strongly.

Director Pete Travis has managed to give Anderson a background story and humanised her as opposed to Judge Dredd, who just comes across as a lean mean kill machine. It is very difficult to relate to a character like Dredd's. The film tends to be superficial with violence being the only motive - find the bad guys, shoot them. Audience is left with many unanswered questions. Who is Dredd? What's his story? And for that matter, are we supposed to admire him for being a bad-ass cop who is ready to shoot anything and everything in the name of justice?

Keeping with the theme of a dystopian world, the underworld and the gore, Dredd's cinematography is dark and dank. Add that to the continuous loud gunshots, the shouting, the ever annoying 3D glasses, and you have a perfect recipe for a headache you will feel in your teeth! The slo-mo makes for some pretty cool shots though and really does give you a drunken feeling as it slows you down.

Dredd is not for those with weak hearts (or weak stomachs for that matter). If you were ever a fan of the comics you might find Dredd enjoyable but you have been warned, it's a 'bloody' loud watch.