Dredd

It’s better than the 95 version. Not a high bar to clear at all, but it has to be said. This is also a for better and worse situation. There are some plot holes in this movie (why does Dredd fire from across the building in one scene but not in another when he has a clean shot on Ma-ma?). The CGI blood is fucking atrocious and has aged like cottage cheese under a heat lamp. All of these can be overlooked if you’re just looking for a fun, guns and explosion, no thinking needed action movie. It delivers that in spades. And it is a lot closer to the comic. In some regards. In other regards, though, it still falls short. The comic was a broad satire of authoritarianism, and this movie has none of that. Dredd is comic-accurate, but to a fault; he is cool, but impossible to LIKE. His character is grim and unflinching, but also charmless. He lacks both the OTT camp of 80’s action characters, or scruffy every-man traits like John McClain and Riggs from Lethal Weapon. And this movie does nothing to actually capitalize on the Judge Dredd property. Honestly, you could’ve stripped the name and character away and it would’ve had little to no impact on the movie. It’s a fun action movie. I don’t regret watching it. It’s all adrenaline and explosions. If you’re looking for nuance, though, or comic accuracy … sorry.