I am the Law!

By Chris Harcus
[contributor]

Five reasons 2012’s Dredd will probably be better than 1995’s Judge Dredd:

Based off of a comic strip from 1977, the 1995 film adaption Judge Dredd (starring Sylvester Stallone as the titular character) was a financial disappointment which was released to a critical mauling from both fans and critics alike.

Over a decade later, Judge Dredd is being given the Hollywood reboot treatment in the new movie Dredd, which is scheduled to be released on September 21. Considering the commercial and critical disaster that was the 1995 rendition of the character, fans still remain skeptical over the quality of Judge Dredd’s new 2012 outing.

We here at The Runner have put together   five reasons why Dredd may be much better than the original Stallone-fueled bomb.

1. No Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone has always been at his best when he is re-enacting the testosterone fueled power fantasies of Middle America with his signature sneer and barely intelligible one-liners. Putting him in a movie where he talks a lot is a big no-no. Also, the director’s attempt to turn a beloved European comic book property into a standard American action movie à la Rambo probably wasn’t a good idea either.

2. Greater respect for source material

One of the largest complaints about the original Judge Dredd was how poorly the movie represented the comic series. Many large staples of the comic book, such as how Judge Dredd never removes his helmet or how Judges are not allowed to have love interests, were completely ignored throughout the movie, much to the ire of fans. The new Dredd promises to be much more aligned to what fans of Judge Dredd have come to expect from the character.

3. Better screenplay

The screenplay for the original Judge Dredd was partially written by Steven Souza, who wrote screenplays for the awful 1994 live-action Flintstones movie and the hysterically bad Street Fighter movie, also from 1994. 2012’s Dredd, however, is written by Alex Garland, known for the zombie classic, 28 Days Later.

4. Positive early reviews

After an early screening at Comic-Con, Dredd has garnered 100 per cent critical approval from critics, according to the review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes. Empire stated that the movie was a “solid, excellent adaptation,” and IGN described how “Dredd is a character study, primarily, one fuelled by violence and action, and we can’t think of a better way to re-introduce this character to cinema audiences,” before awarding the movie an 8 out of 10.

5. Praise from the comic’s creators

When the creator of the Judge Dredd comic series, John Wagner, described his feelings towards the 1995 movie in an interview with Empire in 2012, he stated “the story had nothing to do with Judge Dredd, and Judge Dredd wasn’t really Judge Dredd.” However, when asked about the modern adaption, Wagner described how “the plot is about Dredd and his world. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city – perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film; they tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot. Dredd hones in on the essential job of judging – instant justice in a violent future.” If the original comic creator praised the new Dredd, then it’s a good sign of things to come.