*Warning May Contain Some Spoilers

America is an irradiated wasteland. All that’s left is one giant sprawling metropolis which extends from Boston to Washington DC filled with 800 million people. In this nightmarish take on the future crime is out of control. Only one thing stands against the chaos, ‘Judges’, who possess the combined power of being judge, jury and executioner.

The plot is simple but effective Judge Dredd takes Rookie, Anderson out on her first patrol which will be her final assessment. If she passes she will become a Judge. But a routine call out becomes a nightmare battle for survival as the judges become trapped in a tower block. Their only way out, fight their way to the top of the block and kill the criminal leader Ma Ma.

Being new to the series I went into this not really knowing what to expect. It sounded like an excuse for a lot of mindless violence, and it is. There is a lot of blood and gore in this film hence the 18 rating. But the film is more than just the violence and there is very tight script (Alex Garland, 28 days later) which weds the action together.

This film is a triumph for one reason and one reason only. Karl Urban. His portrayal of Judge Dredd is simply superb. Cold and emotionless, behind his helmet, Dredd cares for nothing but the law. But … somehow I feel Urban works a very very subtle element of humanity into him. The result leaves the audience heavily invested in Dredd and that makes this film work. Unlike the earlier Stalone film (which I researched after), Urban doesn’t feel the need to take his helmet off. As one other reviewer has already said this is an ‘ego free’ performance. Apparently Arnold Schwarzneger turned down the role in the earlier Stalone film because he would have had to wear the helmet.

Urban is ably supported by Olivia Thirlby who provides further humanity and the rest of the cast do a decent job. The 3D works well too. There are a couple of scenes in particular where it really comes into its own.

This shouldn’t have been a film that I liked but I most definitely did like it and I don’t feel guilty about it. I loved Dredd’s character. Definitely worth going to see

8/10