First appearing in 1977 in the British magazine, 2000 AD, the character of Judge Dredd and his dispensing of unforgiving judgment on criminals went on to become the most popular comic book character to come from the country. Given this fact, and that the back story created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra is completely suited for action films, it's surprising that before this the only attempt made to bring the iconic lawman to a wider audience was 1995's Sylvester Stallone starring Judge Dredd, a movie that pretty much missed the entire point. This isn't the case with Dredd. Scripted by Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later...) and directed stylishly by Pete Travis we're treated to 95 minutes of relentless gunfire and heavy violence tacked onto a basic, but pretty effective, premise.

It's the near future and America is in shambles. Amongst the wasteland of the former country is Mega-City One, a walled-in span running from Boston to New York. It's home to 800 million people, crime is running rampant, poverty is around every corner, and the only thing keeping order are "Judges" - law enforcement officers who make on-the-fly judgments and use as much force as they deem necessary.

Into this mix comes a new drug called "Slo-Mo" which does exactly that to its user making time slow down to one-percent its speed. The creation of the vicious Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), it's starting to become a widespread problem. However, Ma-Ma and her gang have a new problem when, after skinning and tossing some failed henchmen from the two-hundredth floor of the apartment tower they've taken over, they have to deal with the arrival of Dredd (Karl Urban) and rookie Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) who've come to investigate.

Anderson's psychic ability pegs one of Ma-Ma's main "officers", Kay (Wood Harris), of committing the crimes only for our judges find themselves trapped and with a bounty on their heads when Ma-Ma locks down the building and offers a reward to whomever can kill them. They have to keep their prisoner alive while fighting their way to the top of the building to confront Ma-Ma.

While I'm not overly familiar with the character of Judge Dredd, I have read some of the comics and can happily tell fans that what's on display here definitely captures the feeling and tone of them. This is a gritty looking flick and setting most of it inside a claustrophobic slum of a complex only adds to the mood. They've also pretty much nailed the attitude of Dredd with Urban constantly having a frown on his face, talking very little, and showing no real compassion. This is balanced pretty well by throwing in a female partner in Anderson but they've wisely not made her a weak female giving her a few moments to kick some ass, as well as making a decision early on a lot of similar characters might not.

But what about the main reason you're probably here: the action? Dredd delivers in spades. I've always liked this type of flick (the 1978 thriller Blackout springs to mind), but having a pair of bad-ass heroes constantly dispatching thugs and avoiding near death while our baddie looks on in disbelief just helps this hit its dark comic book tones. Travis also hits a cool balance between his bloody action scenes (there's a heck of a lot of the red stuff and people being ripped apart by bullets to justify the film's hard R rating) and some really awesome looking slow-motion shots right after people have taken our "Slo-Mo" drug - he knows how to please his adrenaline hungry audience, but also isn't afraid to throw in the oddly placed moments of beauty. As for the 3D, it's not really heavily used and I didn't notice it much, but there is a scene involving shattered glass that's pretty cool.

Given how weak Stallone was in the 1995 film, the choice of Urban here is a good one. Forced to spend the entire movie in his judge's helmet, and (as mentioned) constantly frowning, Urban gives off a vibe of authority while Garland throws in some humour given Dredd's deadpan delivery. Thirlby is not only quite a looker, but she also holds her own quite well against Urban. I wouldn't want to mess with her. Meanwhile, Headey is quite diabolical and I found it refreshing to have the gender roles reversed when it comes to villains in this type of movie.

If you're on the fence about seeing Dredd, but you like hardcore action flicks with comic book stylings, then don't hesitate to see this. It's an entertaining ride that moves so quickly, and so violently, that its constant forward motion makes the time just fly by. This is what should have been made from the character in the first place - it even has approval from co-creator Wagner to prove this. (Chris Hartley, 10/2/12)

Directed By: Pete Travis.
Written By: Alex Garland.

Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris.