The 2012 comic book movie Dredd starring Karl Urban has recently made its way to streaming service Max, and it seems to have arrived successfully, rising rapidly from the 8th most-watched film on the service to the 2nd within days.
Honestly, this isn’t surprising. Dredd might have been a box-office failure, only earning $41.5 million at the box office worldwide. But it’s also a film that found a devoted cult audience almost immediately after its release, becoming a bestseller on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. In fact, one petition for a sequel gained over 80,000 signatures in 2013.
Why does Dredd have such a significant cult following? A portion of it might be due to fans of the original comic also enjoying this film adaptation. But – speaking as a massive fan of the comic – it’s likely only a small portion. While Judge Dredd is one of the UK’s most iconic comic book characters, non-UK fans at least were more likely to recognize the fascist cop from the 1995 movie starring Sylvester Stallone. A more likely reason why the film has found such a devoted audience is that it’s simply an excellent action movie in its own right.
Straightforward plot
The film’s plot is extremely simple. The movie takes place in Mega-City One, a huge city that stretches across almost the whole of the US east coast. Trying to maintain law and order in this chaotic city are the Judges – people in law enforcement with the power to dispense instant justice. The best of them is Judge Dredd - he is the law. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)
One person trying to become a Judge is Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a recruit with psychic abilities. Dredd is tasked with assessing her for a day and seeing if she is fit to be a Judge. When Dredd and Anderson investigate a horrific triple homicide at Peach Trees – just one of countless massive tower blocks in the city – they soon find themselves trapped inside and facing hundreds of gang members led by the crime boss Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
As I mentioned, it's a very straightforward plot. Many people have commented that Dredd’s plot bears a striking resemblance to the Indonesian action movie The Raid, released only a year earlier in 2011. In this case, this was due to an unfortunate case of bad timing, as shooting for Dredd took place from late 2010 to early 2011.
Strong sense of style
But it’s not the plot that makes Dredd such a great watch. It’s the sense of style that it has. While the world and overall look of the film is different to the comic, it still captures its anarchic spirit. It has a strange mix of the brutal and the beautiful. It’s an incredibly violent world, but during the Slo-Mo scenes – where people inhale a drug that slows time down – the colors are brightened and the violence is both horrific and gorgeous to look at. It’s a strange contrast, but it works.
Along with its sense of style, the film also feels like a throwback to the era of classic cult ‘70s and ‘80s movies, such as Escape from New York, The Warriors, and RoboCop (the last of which was heavily inspired by Judge Dredd, so it’s nice to see that influence come full circle). Fans of those films should find a lot to enjoy about Dredd as well.
Day in the life
What also makes Dredd such a great movie is the character development. Not so much with Judge Dredd himself, who changes very little throughout the film, but with Anderson. It’s really her story, as we see her change from a nervous rookie to a confident Judge over a very bad day. And yet, at the same time, we’re also given the strong impression that for Dredd, this is just another regular day on the job.
There are some that have called Dredd underrated. I’m not sure I can agree with that. Not because I don't think it's a great movie, but mainly because most people who see it seem to enjoy it a lot. It even has a solid score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s not a movie for everyone – the extreme level of violence in the film will be off-putting for some viewers. But it is a high-quality film that has its own devoted fanbase with good reason. If you’ve yet to see it, make sure to check it out on Max in the US or Prime Video in the UK and Ireland.