Out of Pod Experience

Embarrasingly poor trailer

Don't even know where to begin...

So, Judge Dredd is being re-booted from the 90's - and regardless of what you thought about that film, if you had seen it, it had the right look to it.

Dredd looked good, MegaCity One looked good, the guns looked good and The Cursed Earth looked good. The 90's film sadly had major plot and script issues, and was partially overshadowed by The Fifth Element two years later. My point is, it got the look right.

This, looks like utter garbage - and the wide angle shots of mega-city one look exactly like someone just cut and paste the exact same tower block a hundred times in 3D MAX, probably because someone did cut and paste the exact same tower block one hundred times, and then rendered it.

If you can be bothered; freeze frame the trailer when you see a shot of Dredd's bike - then come back and give an opinion about it that is positive.

Then there is the plot and script.

This film has been written by Alex Garland, those of you will know this is the original writer for 28 days later. So...fuckin'...what.

I never respected him as someone who could come up with good dialogue, or memorable characters - there was always a clear distance between them and the audience - Sunshine in particular had this problem. As a result, never felt like I cared about the characters in the film.

This I feel is problematic when you got a story with people who are trying to get from point A to point B, with 'someone/thing/entity' trying to kill you, or you are trapped in a room with no way to get out - which is a general theme of the films he writes (he is writing "Logan's Run" right now).

So wtf is the plot of this film? Similar to other films written by Alex Garland; a bunch of characters we probably will not care about have to get from point A to point B, whilst being pursued by someone who is the creator of the macguffin. Which is this film is a drug called 'slo-mo' which has got to be one of the most stupidest names for a drug in a film ever.

This drug does what is says on the tin, though - as it 'slows down reality to 1% of normal speed' or in other words 'it allows for convenient slow motion sequences to give your low budget comic book film more depth.

And the motivation of the villain? Well, this is quite possibly the most contrived reason ever: because she used to be a prostitute and now wishes to enact vengeance on those who gave her a scar and brutally beat her.

Riiiiight.

So, the only way a female can be considered a drug overlord in a Dredd movie is if she is an ex-prostitute...like, that's it? The thought of just being smart didn't occur to the writer? OR, perhaps, I don't know, just being opportunistic and saw a potential corner of the market that could be exploited and took her chances on making a pile of cash? Had to be 'twisted & broken' in some way, because that's the only time that a women is motivated to empower themselves, isn't it

No, it had to be a ex-prostitute - because the writer can't write convincing characters and needs to explain logical behavior illogically, and use soap-opera-level-drama (S.O.L.D.)

So then we get to the scenes...which is basically a mish-mash of every single survivor horror movie, and a few others which spring to mind; like 'The Warriors' and, funnily enough, 'Logan's Run'. Where there is the constant threat of dying to whatever foe presents itself, against a backdrop of lawlessness, and distraught characters facing increasing odds the closer they get to point B.

Basically Dredd has to get out of a tower block controlled by the villian, and at the end of the film (which they put in the trailer) Dredd throws her through a plane of glass and she falls to the bottom of the tower. No doubt half-way down she takes some 'slo-mo' and experiences her death at 1% of normal time, or ironically she doesn't.

And now the budget.

$45 mill is not a lot of cheese to make an adaptation of Judge Dredd - in fact it's kind of insulting to think a film like this didn't attract more money, or could be considered a 'Dredd Movie' with this level of budget.

Total Recall, has $200 million budget - and if that isn't enough; the original Judge Dredd 1995 had a budget of $70 million...17 years ago.

I think it will fail, but probably have some Dredd fans saying it is the Second Coming for the next few minutes, until we get a decent budget applied to another Dredd film.

The only positive thing I can think of saying about this film, is also the most negative thing: Judge Anderson is in it, when her character has enough nuances to support her own movie.

Maybe in the future.

AK

I actually think it looks surprisingly good. And I've never read the comic and hated the original. So I had no expectations to speak of on this film.

Drive-by comment :)

One huge gaping plot hole : if the "bad guys" have access to some drug that lets you accelerate your own senses and thought patterns by two orders of magnitude (because that's the only way you can experience something at 1% of normal speed), how exactly is any non-drugged-up person supposed to compete in even remotely fair combat with that ? I mean, for the druggies, Judge Dredd might as well be a sitting duck.
Also, yeah, I've seen better fitting cosplay costumes than what the actors are wearing.

It has been known to happen.

AK

Doesnt look half bad for a 70 million budget! Sticking points are the bikes, their supposed to be bigger and the judges themselves, especially Dredd, he is meant to be taller and broader. This is like that predator movie where they put in a guy who basicly looked anorexic next to Arny to play the main character.

Other than that ill watch it. Maybe not in cinema but will still watch it.

No.

Bad screenwriting does that, which is what I dread primarilly.

AK

Personally I think that looks like a gigantic improvement over the Stallone version, which was so insanely cheesy that cinema goers should have been given crackers and wine to go with their tickets.

It may not appeal aesthetically to long time JD fans, but when you consider the need to appeal to a mass audience, most of whom probably haven't heard of the Judge, I say this film looks set to hit the mark quite nicely.

wait what? what made that movie good was how in the 1st 5 minutes he has his job taken away from him but still acts like he is the law. But he's not , he's in jail. And they build that **** up for like an hour and then he is like "I AM THE LAW" and you feel it because even though the movie is stupid, he has no weapons, no friends, no life. He has a good reason to be such a *****. I thought that was the point of the movie?

this movie looks like it could of just been a sci-fi movie about cops in the future. What is this junk? also why does no one else have the helmet on? Everyone suppose to have that standard issue helmet. And then when it's taken away you see him without it for most of the movie. It's a big deal when it goes back on, but without seeing his face for most of the movie, it would be stupid.

what if they kept on the helmet during the jail scenes. Wouldn't that just be too comic book cartoony?

I've never seen a more useless movie plot in my life. And that's impressive becuase usally i have to see a movie before I can say if it's bad or not. I really tried to like the trailer, but , wow. It's just a movie about him in a building the whole time. Oh, how exciting *rolls eyes*

it's going to flop hard



also how can I shallow that those drugies that can see time moving at 1%, can't hit him with 12 of them with guns? they hit like the whole floor but not him. WTF. They don't seem very super human to me :/

What would of been COOL, would of been if he walked in and got OWNED. and then had to figure out a way to still win, but with a counter bio weapon, or by taking the stuff himself. I don't know, just some kind of plot, anything really.

Those were terrible movies in every respect. Their "look and feel" deviation was the least annoying thing about them.

That looks awesome

I'm very easy to please though