A Law unto itself (Judge Dredd (DVD))

Member Name: Zenith

Product:	Judge Dredd (DVD)
Date:	04/07/00 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some of the costumes aren't too bad

Disadvantages: Violence for the sake of violence is not what Judge Dredd was ever about

There is something very disappointing about seeing someone you admire selling out for hard cash. No not Stallone - I'm talking about old Joe Dredd. After years of enjoying the satirical tales in 2000AD it was heartbreaking to see what a mess of a movie this turned out to be.

Judge Dredd the movie is based on the great comic strip in 2000AD. The movie unfortunately takes outrageous liberties with the established cannon and in the process removes the heart and soul of the character.

The basic plot revolves around the good guy (Stallone) being wrongly accused of a crime and he is shipped off to a penal colony. He breaks out with the aid of the obligatory humorous sidekick and via a smattering of mediocre special effects, unmemorable catchphrases and a lot of violence clears his name. Turns out that Dredd has an evil clone who is played by Armand Assante. Ah yes Armand Assante and Sylvester Stallone - they're excellent choices to play a couple of clones aren't they? Well I know that I could never tell them apart but then, like the casting director I am terminally stupid.

Directed by longtime Judge Dredd fan Danny Cannon (who went onto I Still Know What You Did Last Summer ) this film managed to miss almost all the main themes of the comic. I have often been told that Americans just don't get the satirical aspects of Dredd and this film would seem to confirm that they couldn't see past the guns. Played as an action movie this is incredibly dull. Cannon let his hero down badly here.

However it would be unfair to blame all the problems on the director - he is ably assisted by whoever decided that Stallone was the man to play Dredd. This decision turned what could have been a "Superman" or "Batman" into the equivalent of "Batman Forever" i.e. mince. The first problem is that Dredd must never remove his helmet - he is the faceless representative of the law. There was no way Stallone would b
e willing to go through the entire film without his visage being exposed to an eager (?) public. Even allowing his natural inability to act there is no excuse for the way Stallone sleepwalks his way through this part. Subsequent reports suggest that he accepts that this was a poor performance - now if the star is admitting he was bad then that should be enough of a warning to you in itself.

Stallone is ably assisted in ruining this film by Rob Schnieder. Schnieder manages to be both irritating and instantly forgettable - no mean feat I'm sure you will agree. His attempts at humour are badly out of place and are symptomatic of a time when every action movie had to be "funny".
Other cast members include Max Von Sydow who seems to be the only member of the cast who realises that his career is going down the toilet by starring in this movie.

All in all this is a badly missed opportunity. Stallone and Cannon have combined to create a film which has less emotion, energy and basic entertainment value than the original material.

Summary: