Dredd at 10

Karl Urban and Mega-City One a decade on

Martin Davis

April 2022

'Dredd' was released in cinemas 10 years ago this year. When it was announced in 2008 that production would begin on a new Judge Dredd film, fans of the archetypal law enforcer of the future, from the pages of the 2000AD comic, could be forgiven for being less than enthusiastic. After the high expectations for the 1995 ‘Judge Dredd’ version starring Sylvester Stallone, the pressure was on to get it right this time To put it kindly the Stallone film had been disappointing.

The reboot would be scripted and produced by English author Alex Garland, who had written the acclaimed novel ‘The Beach’ as well as screenplays for the Danny Boyle films ’28 Days Later’ and ‘Sunshine’ and directed by fellow Brit Pete Travis.

‘Dredd’ arrived in 2012 and the fans finally got the Judge Dredd film they’d been waiting for. Whilst many felt the previous film was not much more than an action vehicle for its Hollywood superstar, with little regard for the source material, any such misgivings about ‘Dredd’ were soon laid to rest. No comedy sidekick this time. No love interest and perhaps most significantly this Judge Dredd would remain concealed beneath the famous Judge helmet.

Crucial to the films success would be the casting of the title role and in New Zealander Karl Urban they got an actor who seized the challenges of playing the iconic lawman. With his menacing, gravelly voice and scowling grimace, Urban brings a gritty credibility to the part, no mean feat playing a character whose face is largely obscured for the films duration.

22nd Century North America is an irradiated wasteland, having been ravaged by nuclear conflict. Out of the radioactive deserts known as ‘The Cursed Earth’ have grown the Megacities. The biggest of these is Megacity One, a huge sprawling metropolis stretching the length of the East Coast. With a population of over 800 million, crime has spiralled out of control with 17,000 offences reported daily. There is only one thing fighting for order in the chaos, the men and women of the Hall of Justice, the Judges, given the authority to act as Judge, Jury and, if required, executioner.

On a routine day on the job Judge Dredd is assigned to evaluate a rookie cop, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) who possesses powerful psychic powers caused by a genetic mutation. A gangland slaying sees Dredd and his protégé sent to the notorious ‘Peach Trees’ block, a 200 storey vertical slum controlled by the ruthless drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headley) and her violent clan. Megacity One is in the grip of drug epidemic and it soon transpires that the drug in question, ‘Slo-Mo,’ is being manufactured and distributed by the Ma-Ma clan from their base on the 200th floor. ‘Peach Trees’ is put into lockdown by Ma-Ma and with Dredd and Anderson trapped inside and sentenced to death by her, a desperate and bloody attempt to reach the top floor begins.

With a theatrical release in 3D that made stunning use of the technology, particularly in the ‘Sl-Mo’ and shootout scenes ‘Dredd’ was not a box office hit but has since gone on to gain a huge cult following with its home release.

Made on a budget of $45 million, relatively modest in comparison to most modern Hollywood blockbusters and with exterior scenes filmed in Johannesburg and some ‘Peach Trees’ interior scenes filmed in a disused shopping centre in North West London! ‘Dredd’ is a brilliant and skilfully made action film that stands up to repeated viewings.

Over the past few years there has been a growing campaign for a sequel or perhaps a TV series. With a wealth of material from the writers of 2000AD and with Karl Urban publicly stating he would be prepared to reprise the role, ‘Dredd’ fans can live in hope. Brutal, beautiful and ridiculously entertaining, ‘Dredd’ is a fantastic film.