I think my favorite part of Dredd was at the end when the commander asks Dredd what happened and his response was, "Drug Bust" and the follow up of "Perps were uncooperative." That was such a great line.
That's one of the dystopian themes, they have so many people in the city that they can only respond to a fraction of crimes. Really surprised Mike and Jay didn't pick up on the line by the corrupt judge: "This city is a meat grinder, and all we (judges) do is turn the handle"
18:02 "Not everything is about Star Trek" I love how sincere Jay sounded when he said that line. It sounds like he really cares about MIke and wants to help him with his life challenges.
Weirdly he never stood out to me until Dredd, a role you never even see his face in. Now I recognize him instantly and enjoy everything I've seen him do
Fun facts! In the comic you never see Dredds face. Urban, who is a huge fan of the comic, only took the role after telling the studio he would not take the helmet off. Urban has been pushing for a sequel since he finished filming Dredd. A TV show is in the works. Apparently. Dredd was based on Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry.
There's a great panel in an early Dredd comic where he's being investigated for corruption and has his door kicked down in the middle of the night by the SJS, and you see Dredd even wears the helmet when he goes to bed 🤣
Rafferty1968 I really love that Karl Urban insisted on that, I give him huge respect for that as most big name actors would want to eliminate the helmet so as to not cover their face.
Dredd was the greatest comic book movie of the decade. And boy, was it one hell of a decade for comic book movies. And yet, Dredd was the greatest comic book movie of the decade. HOT SHOT.
Alex Garland has put together some of the best films of the past decade. He's credited as a writer but supposedly had the most influence on the project. It's disappointing his work hasn't garnered more commercial success.
I loved the way they did the Judges' uniforms. They just seemed like motorcycle gear and basic police body armor with the iconic elements added in a really subdued way.
FYI, as a fan of the 2000AD Dredd comics, Dredd predates Robocop by many years and Robocop's design was heavily influenced (if not outright plagiarised) by Dredd, not the other way round. Just wanted that cleared up!
@@BinaryBard64 I know this is late but he didn't say that, Robocop's design was heavily influenced by Dredd. The paranthesis doesn't affect the following text
@@BinaryBard64 I know this is late but he didn't say that, Robocop's design was heavily influenced by Dredd. The paranthesis doesn't affect the following text
The Judge Dredd universe is brilliant. Ever since original 1977 comic, it's always had this really hard, dystopian outlook on the future where someone as hard and cold as Dredd is the only one who can really combat crime as it has become a result of that society. It also manages to seem believable, because no matter the decade you always feel like we're "almost there". It isn't just social commentary on current events, it's a way people have felt for 40 years now.
. . . You really missed the point of the 2000AD comics. They were parody. Like, the were making fun of the hyper violence and hard-on people had for it. Americans in particular, as it was an English comic.
@@aerthreepwood8021 Yep. Dredd is the case of a comic too smart for its target audience - dumb little boys, who then grew up into big fuckin morons. Sad. But also true.
For somebody who has read the comic books, I can honestly say that the movie was 100% true to the comic. It is perhaps the best comic book movie adaptation ever made.
Honestly Dredd deserved a sequel. It was so fucking fun to watch. Giving Dredd a more "human" companion was a great decision, as it lets Dredd BE Dredd, a ruthless killer, without there being no interest in our protagonist.
Have you seen Hollywood output the last like...half a decade? I honestly don't understand why anyone that's genuinely a fan of something would want *those* people soiling the good will of the thing they enjoyed.
I love how Mike suddenly stumbles into and realises the concept that's been the core impetus behind the world of Judge Dredd and Mega-City One since they were first dreamt up for the comic: What happens when an unchecked police state has become a societal norm in a brutal world?
The guys who wrote the Judge Dredd comic have said on several occasions that the reason you never see his face is basically because "justice has no face". I can understand that Mama is a tragic villain, but Dredd isn't a social welfare counselor; his job is to uphold the law, not feel bad for people, especially villains who drug people and then throw them like 100 stories to their death.
And especially a villain who drugs people with something that makes their perception of time slow way down because she's going to skin them alive and wants to make their suffering last longer for them, just because they tried to sell drugs on her turf. I don't care how fucked up Ma-Ma's past was, that shit is unforgivably evil. She's not a tragic villain, she's an absolute monster who deserves no one's sympathy.
I think the point of the movie is less to feel bad about her, but about the perpetuation of violence and how it was unavoidable someone like her would occur. She had no choice but to become an evil wretch to get on top, to never have to go back to what she was. If she shows weakness, she might be reduced to nothing again. And like her are millions in Megacity 1, and by using violence Dredd has created how many widows and orphans in just one day? Who will join gangs and do anything to survive. How many new Mamas were seeded in that one day? That's the tragedy. Mama and Peach Trees will just happen again. And Dredd did nothing to stop the problem. He just upholds the law. Social criticism ✨ I love this movie 😊
I think Dredd's entire motivation was 'punishment fit the crime. So simple. All the moral stuff was there and it's cool to think about but that ain't Dredd's job.
Phoenix Dawn I was a year late myself and I literally kicked myself in the ass for not watching it in the theater. I bought a 3D tv ( when they were hot at the time) and bought this movie. Still the best thing to transfer into 3D
Arguably The Ride was better and contrary to what they say it's copy paste both movies are almost identical just Raid have better fights and Dred have a better premise its Dred after all.
As someone who's read Dredd for 20 years or so, it makes me very happy to see these guys took exactly the themes and ideas from the film that has made the comic so good for so many years. Really shows that the filmmakers did a great job. Also interesting they saw robocop parallels when that was partially inspired by Dredd.
I loved the ongoing theme of how the whole crazy adventure was just another day on the job for Dredd. "For you, the day Judge Dredd graced Peach Trees was the most important day of your life. But for me... it was Tuesday."
"Maybe that's what the comic book is about." - Yes. You absolutely nailed it. Dredd's world portrayed in 2000AD asks exactly these questions while also providing a dark, extremely satirical look at our own society in the process. Loved the movie... perhaps a touch less "future tech" and a fair bit drier in tone (often background events border on farce while the main narrative is gritty) but a great portrayal for the big screen.
Ten years later I can recall almost every single shot of Dredd 3D, and I don't remember anything about Looper except it was about time travel, and it happened in the country.
Dredd is fantastic. I watched it 4 months ago, and every couple of weeks I get back to thinking about it. Despite its simplicity, it's a very smart film. It addresses so many themes about society, and Dredd himself is a sort of testosterone fueled, one-dimensional tour guide of it all. Dredd doesn't develop, but he's a force which facilitates the exploration and development of other characters and facets of his society, and by comparison, our own society. Like you said about that long slow fall down, you are given the luxury to examine your feelings about Ma-ma as a (fictional) person. About her morality, mercy vs. cruelty, and what makes a person who they are. Since when does an oversimplified (and thoroughly badass) action movie do that? Dredd is fantastic.
Gameplay pro-tip: If you want people to care about something, explain what you enjoyed about it and why you enjoyed those things instead of just saying, "it's awesome". You know, give people a reason to actually care instead of a throwaway statement that will be forgotten in five seconds. Also, maybe make the comment somewhere relevant and not on a video three years after it was posted.
The movie would have doubled its earnings if they put Thirlby's Anderson on the posters, there's not many people who wouldn't want to be her, be with her or both.
"Inhabitants of Peach Trees, this is Judge Dredd." "In case you people have forgotten, this block operates under the same rules as the rest of the city. Ma-Ma is not the law... I am the law. Ma-Ma is a common criminal; guilty of murder, guilty of the manufacture and distribution of the narcotic known as Slo-Mo, and as of now under sentence of death. Any who obstruct me in carrying out my duty will be treated as an accessory to her crimes... you have been warned. And as for you Ma-Ma... judgement time".
Not a big fan of Stallone's Dredd, but I think they got the look and feel of Mega City 1 better than the Urban version, if you want it accurate to the comics.
I've seen both. I'd say as far as having to pick one: I haven't thought of looper since seeing it until just watching this where I have gone back to watch Dredd many times.
Episode 39 Jay: "Do you ever think you make too many Star Trek references?" Oh boy Jay, if you only knew...if you were only prepared...for the future. Looper Jay may have something to say.
Another great thing about the 'narrow' day in the life of a Judge thing, reinforcing the film's loyalty to the comic, is that the whole story follows a random choice by Anderson as to which crime they should attend. I only remember a car chase in corn from Looper.
Mike was right, Jay was wrong. Dredd has become a classic with a lot of replay value over the years. It's a crime that we didn't support it in theaters, and there was never a sequel.
It's funny. I saw these two around roughly the same time. At that time I would have said looper. since then I have CHOSEN to watch dredd multiple times, with multiple people...looper I have watched half of once more. I am sorry, I gotta go Dredd.
+Kevin Matta You think so? I just saw what they saw and that was the plothole of them shooting the wife when the rules were simple. No murders in the future. And some other things that could've been tweaked. I did enjoy the buildup of the big bad and how all things were cured in time. I feel Dredd was so true to the comic. It was simple, yet could've lead to a deeper sequel. As far as action films go, at least.
+Maladaptive Daydreamer I haven't read the comics of dredd so I wont comment on them the film was solid tho.. as for looper I naturally go into every type of sci-fi or fantasy story knowing there will be plot holes so they ddnt really bother me much. wat I did like ( the character development, visual style, action, acting, overall fun level) outweighed the rest. thats just me tho
Dredd compares well with Die Hard. Cop works his way to the top of the building taking out thugs along the way. Drops the boss off the building to their death.
So funny to watch this many years later. 1st : a double feature Half in the Bag with 2 good movies is an event 2rd : there was a time when Rian Johnson was such an interesting and promising director. Who knew he will probably irremedly dammage forever the Star Wars franchise. 3rd : everyone recognize now, rightfully, that Dredd is a gem, unfortunately nobody went to see it
the Judge Dredd comic was originally a British black comedy. the Judges were an amalgamation of all the negative stereotypes that British people in the 1980s had of Americans.
Trust me, 80s Britain was basically Mega City 1. Crime ran rampant, daily protests or riots for the stupidest of things, the onset of possible nuclear war and baton-happy cops who would split your head wide open as soon as look at you. Imagine Dredd with a bat.
Little mentioned, but writer/ creator John Wagner grew up in Philadelphia until the age of twelve, I suspect it made an impact on him. Oh and artist/ creator Carlos Ezquerra was born and raised in fascist Spain, that might have had something to do with it.
The thing Rookie Judge Anderson was about to say was ‘doubt’, which is exactly what Mike was talking about with the society and system that the Judges seek to preserve creating and fostering criminals. This is a major theme of the comic book arcs.
I noticed the end of Dredd Mama actually inhales the hit of Slo-mo of her own accord. Dredd presses the inhaler but I'm pretty sure she could have just blown it back in his face, instead she inhales the hit as her last act of defiance to the Law, or some shit like that.. it also reminded me of Deckard spitting at Batty as he holds him over the edge of the rooftop at the end of Bladerunner.
Feeding Frenzy is great! I laughed my ass off. Especially when they surprised the guy with the heart condition in the kitchen. The pause / stare and catching breath while the other character stared stupidly is comedic gold!
Dredd is awesome, I really hope we get to see more films in the future, there's so much of the world to put on the big screen. The Verhoven/Carpenter analogy is perfect and for good reason too. Robocop was spawned from an early Dredd movie concept, so it's not surprising why the two characters and settings are similar.
Funny that they keep mentioning Pual Verhoeven, who made Robocop, because Robocop was only made because the studio couldn't secure the rights to Judge Dredd. The characters, settings, etc are nearly identical.
I didn't realize they were trying to make JGL look like Bruce Willis with makeup. I remember watching the movie for the first time and wondering wtf was wrong with his face
Dredd? One of the best action movies. Ever. Best on screen depiction of Dredd. Ever. Looper? One of the most "meh" movies. Ever. Most "meh" Bruce Willis movie? Not even close.
34:00 The great (and also horrifying) thing about this movie is that without the judges brutally stamping out crime like they do society would collapse. Their society literally can't be fixed or improved, the city is over crowded and there rest of the world is an irradiated unlivable wasteland so there's nowhere else to go. Mega City One is like that experiment where they put rats into a "rat city" with finite space and then observe what happened when they overpopulate. The system that exists is awful but it's the best one possible under the circumstances.
In the well over 30 years since the first publication of Judge Dredd, I am pretty sure he has never appeared without his helmet in the comics. For them to stay true to that, in light of rampant Hollywood narcissism, is a real testament to the filmmakers' integrity and faith in the subject.
Read Judge Dredd (2000AD) from day one: yes, some of us are that old. This is a sound representation of the characters, and in the most part, their world: I am not sure how block wars would play out though. The Stallone version has to be praised for getting that right. The many "in" references scattered about the film were appreciated too: Chopper, e.t.c. Hoping to see the Mega City One, T.V. programme become a reality. Make it happen, Rebellion.
"Pretty much every time travel movie, if you really break it down, they all kind of fall apart." The exception being Primer, because no human being alive has ever been able to break it down.
You guys correctly noted that the world of "Dredd" is a bleak, brutal, urban landscape where violence perpetuates itself. So I was surprised when you failed to note a nice piece of irony in the film. During the fight in the Slo-Mo lab, the treacherous Judge Lex taunts Dredd by saying: "You know what Mega-City One is, Dredd? It's a fuckin' meat grinder. People go in one end, and meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle." The irony is, Judge Lex has a real point!
