Judge Dredd [DVD]

I saw this in the cinema in 1995 and, in spite of being a big 2000AD and Judge Dredd fan, I found it really disappointing. From the moment Stallone arrived at the Block War at the very start and slurred "I am the law!" to absolutely no effect, I was left shaking my head, though the set design and art production meant it all looked fantastic.I re-watched the film more recently on blu ray and enjoyed it far more than 20 years ago, it is a lot of fun, but I was still left disappointed that a great opportunity had been missed. The blu ray is fine quality as you would expect, sharp with good colour saturation.The good:- Amazing realization of Mega-City 1. The film really captures the look and feel of an overcrowded futuristic city as they did in Blade Runner, Fifth Element etc and I love the scenes when we fly through the sprawling metropolis and the bustling street scenes. The sets and miniatures beat CGI- Yes it is derivative, but it steals from decent sources such as Blade Runner, Demolition Man etc- Loyalty to 2000AD source material with the Angel Gang, Judge Hershey, Rico, ABC Warriors etc featuring.- Silly, but enjoyable story with some funny lines- Good supporting acting from Jurgen Prochnow, Max von Sydow and Armand Asante- Diane Lane is beautiful as always- Good use of the variety of Lawgiver ammo- Some good action sequences- Brief appearance of James Remar- Great saturated cinematography from the late Adrian Biddle- Finally, the score by Alan Silvestri (Predator) is absolutely brilliant, with the main theme being one of the best ever.The bad:- Stallone. He is just awful as Dredd from the aforementioned slurring of "I am the law!" onwards. Dredd was clearly based on Clint Eastwood and was basically a futuristic Dirty Harry. In 1995, I think Eastwood would still have been able to play Dredd and would have been a far better fit. It doesn't help that the script gives him little to work with such as the repeated "I knew you'd say that" line.- Rob Schneider as Fergie is annoying, but he's not as bad as I remember and some of his lines are quite funny. But the mis-mathced buddy-buddy mania that swept cinema from the late 80s to the mid 90s doesn't work here.- The judge uniforms by Versace are horrible: too flashy and glitzy and just look wrong. Dredd looks ridiculous in a black spandex.- Dredd's helmet is too small and looks odd alongside the over-sized blingy shoulder pads- The block war opening scene makes no sense: perps are firing into the street blowing up cars and destroying everything. Yet when Dredd arrives he declares the shooting is beyond lethal radius and there is nothing to fear. WTF? Moments before cars are shattering and exploding under bullet fire from the blocks, yet seconds later we are told nothing is lethal? A really annoying way to introduce Dredd.- The Lawmaster bike is horrible too. It was clearly based on a grunty Harley Davidson in early comics, but here makes a high-pitched whine like a Prius and has skinny Vespa-like tyres. It's all wrong and like the uniform looks a bit wet.- Everything is too clean and sanitized, from the city, the characters, the violence and the outfits to the script.

I AM THE LAW!New one might be more bloody but it has half the plot

It's creepy, it's fun and it's just so campy. But it's so fantastic.It's obviously not as good as Dredd, but it doesn't need to be. This is a very different kind of film and it works. One of those that you rewatch over the years with fondness.

Even in 2022 this still great fun to watch.

This is a odd one I'm a fan of dredd but knew the helmet would be coming off and was fine with that but the film is a mess with too many story threads and one glaring problem dredd and rico are clones so why 2actors? For the money he was paid Stallone should have been both also visually stunning but the sfx for the flying lawmasters hasn't worn well, lackluster and pointless also the character of Fargo completely changed and played by an actor? you either love or hate ( can you guess my view) so one of those" if only movies" so if you want to watch a cheesy 80's sci-fi movie pre-marvel watch it with a wry smile and then watch DREDD.

This movie gets better with age, a very underrated comic book movie in my opinion, Stallone looks very cool as Dredd and plays the part well, the movie is constantly action packed from start to finish which is exactly what you want, it may not be exactly like the comic but what do people want, its a great fun thrill ride with quality effects, the budget is really good, the sets look awesome, the vehicles and gadgets look awesome, the costume design is amazing, the new masks don't look far off the original even with a few changes, there is a slight comical edge along with the violence which shows his character for more of a person than just a cold law man, the support cast is fine, Diane Lane is very sexy as Judge Hershey, I think this movie is really worth going back too and given another chance, its a cult classic Sci-fi actioner more than a comic book movie, one of Stallone's coolest movies from the 90's.This review is of the French Blu-ray which has a great HD picture, (Warner Blu-Line)Movie plays in English with removable subtitles,Features include a making of in English with non removable French subtitles, a trailer, plus a few other extras.Region Free plays in UK, 92-mins, 1995.Comes in a slim-line case with a cool slipcase with same art.

Visually, the film is impressive. Lots of great practical effects and makeup. It has a grittiness we don't often get in today's films. Diane Lane stole the show. I wish the entire film had been about her characters. Stalone was hammy, and the plot was disjointed. But there is some charm in this messy film.