June 25, 2012 by Paul Curtin
I’m about a week late on posting this trailer, but then again, I’m also about seventeen years late to seeing the original Judge Dredd. The original Stallone sci-fi flick released back in 1995 wasn’t well-received by critics or fans and was considered a box office flop here in the States as I remember and according to Wikipedia. But with reboots all that Hollywood has left, Lionsgate is now looking to bring back the Law sans Stallone.
Not seeing the original (I just added it to my Netflix queue), I can’t really comment on if the trailer looks better or worse. The original seemed like a cheesy kick-ass action flick, just like Stallone’s prior sci-fi movie Demolition Man, which looks like something right down my alley. But the latest movie starring Karl Urban, who seems to be perfect for the role, doesn’t seem like anything special. Most likely due to its lower $45 million budget, the movie just looks kinda bland based on the trailer, which looks like a futuristic version of The Raid with Dredd and his sidekick (Olivia Thirlby) stuck in a futuristic skyscraper the size of a city aka Mega-City One.
A futuristic version of The Raid sounds awesome, but I didn’t see any awesome fight sequences teased in the trailer and only saw a bunch of slow motion which alone doesn’t make for a good movie as we learned with the Max Payne movie. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself how the upcoming reboot looks. Dredd hits theaters in 3D on September 21, 2012.
The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge — a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.
During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.
