I think I preferred Stallone's version. At least there was some humour and it didn't take itself too seriously. Dredd was dull as hell and ever so ernest. It wasn't even 1% of the film Robocop was.
I watched DREDD for the first time a couple of nights ago and I didn't like it. It's not a terrible film but there was nothing remarkeable about it. There was no ambition on the filmmaker's part. The story was uninspired and the villain was dire.
Another disappointing thing about DREDD is that while it's set in such an interesting future and environment, we don't really get to see it or see how it functions. I wanted to see more of that world - not the inside of a building. On the positive side, Karl Urban was ok as the lead character.
A sequel is extremely unlikely but hopefully someone within the next few years will try rebooting this character once again in a fresh and more ambitious film.
Out of interest, did either of you ever read the 2000AD comic strip ?
Only the one where Dredd fights Batman.
The film should succeed on its own merits and apart from some colourful 3D effects, it doesn't have any.
The casting of Lena Heady should have been a warning.:eek:
Another disappointing thing about DREDD is that while it's set in such an interesting future and environment, we don't really get to see it or see how it functions. I wanted to see more of that world - not the inside of a building. On the positive side, Karl Urban was ok as the lead character.
Thing is, that was the very thing I liked about it. Far too many sci fi action movies these days seems to spend endless screen time showing us the future landscape, lots of futuristic buildings, the obligatory flying cars, and usually at some point a chase scene or two to show us how proud they are of their wonderfull effects. It's become a very predictable and boring cliche. Check out the recent Total Recall remake for evidence.
I liked the fact that this movie gets straight into the action, does not waste time, and keeps the running time to a lean 90 mins.
But then if you want a big, bloated, 2 hours plus cgi-fest, there are of course plenty to choose from...
i think most people assumed it would be awful and didnt bother watching it at the cinema. i thought it would be awful it stuck me like it was going to be resident evil type rubbish. but after several people telling me that they were surprised how good it was i watched it and loved it. i think its going to be a sleeper hit on blu ray
With the awful global gross, I think most people hated it without even paying to see it.
What sort of a person would not go and see a movie that they were otherwise interested in seeing, just because they had read somewhere that it did not make a profit?
There are many, many excellent movies out there that are not financial successes, and that lack of financial success can be for lots of reasons...poor publicity, too much competition, inifficient marketing campaigns, poor release schedule etc.
Frankly, anyone who believes that only good movies make profit and those that don't must therefore be bad are utter idiots.
I would happily like to see a sequel to this movie, as most of the action took place in one location there is much more of the city yet to see, and many more possible stories and characters. And I think most people pretty much agreed that Urban was a pretty good Dredd.
What sort of a person would not go and see a movie that they were otherwise interested in seeing, just because they had read somewhere that it did not make a profit?
There are many, many excellent movies out there that are not financial successes, and that lack of financial success can be for lots of reasons...poor publicity, too much competition, inifficient marketing campaigns, poor release schedule etc.
Frankly, anyone who believes that only good movies make profit and those that don't must therefore be bad are utter idiots.
I would happily like to see a sequel to this movie, as most of the action took place in one location there is much more of the city yet to see, and many more possible stories and characters. And I think most people pretty much agreed that Urban was a pretty good Dredd.
I think he meant people who had seen it for free. Guilty as charged, m'lud.
I don't think it received a lot of promotion outside the UK, especially in the US. it also didn't help that he's simply not a very well known character compared to other comic-book characters.
People may also have been put off by memories of the Stallone film.
I don't think it received a lot of promotion outside the UK, especially in the US. it also didn't help that he's simply not a very well known character compared to other comic-book characters.
People may also have been put off by memories of the Stallone film.
My dad, a long-time 2000AD fan, wasn't aware there was a Dredd film until I talked to him about it. I had assumed he already knew. By the time he learned it from me, the film already had had its theatrical run.
He doesn't read film magazines, watch TV and use the Internet much. I'm not sure how he missed it in newspapers he regularly read (Times, Telegraph and Evening Standard), though.
I don't think it received a lot of promotion outside the UK, especially in the US.
It was heavily promoted in the US. The trailers were constantly on TV - weeks before the film opened. And Karl Urban was on a few chat shows promoting it. It's just one of those films that - for whatever reasons - didn't click with the majority of moviegoers.
I watched it on 3d blu ray last week and loved it. I always judge a movie by when I start looking at the clock to see how long is left. I watched Prometheus the other week and was bored after 20 mins where with dredd I never once looked at clock once. My only gripe is it wasn't long enough.
Skimping on the DVD extras isn’t going to help this become the sleeper hit we all hope. Would it have killed them to do a commentary and a decent making-of? Low cost additionals that could push someone to buy instead of rent but there’s sod-all on the DVD.
It seems as though the early lack of enthusiasm surrounding this has resurfaced for the DVD. Savour this one perps, we aint getting another drokking Dredd stim!!
I just saw it : I enjoyed it, and mostly because it was fairly close to the real comic.
I did think the actor playing Dredd was the worst part, and even he wasn't bad.
Oh no, really the worst part were those CHEAP bikes.
I liked the rest of the casting, Anderson was excellent, bloke of The Wire was good too.
The building/block was good, Judges uniforms were not bad but too chunky in the middle.
Any old fogie like me who is putting off seeing it just incase its another kick in the teeth : don't worry, go see it.
Watched the 2D Blu Ray last night and while i enjoyed watching the film again immensely, the picture quality was extremely temperamental, sometimes it looked stunning, but then random shots featured an excessive amount of film grain which almost made it look like a worn out VHS tape, there were only maybe two or three moments in the film that were severely affected by this, but it was still kind of distracting. I wouldn't let it put you off buying the Blu Ray though. what it lacked in the picture department, it more than made up for by having some truly excellent sound, the DTS Master Audio is fantastic and among the best i've heard on Blu Ray.
Skimping on the DVD extras isn’t going to help this become the sleeper hit we all hope. Would it have killed them to do a commentary and a decent making-of? Low cost additionals that could push someone to buy instead of rent but there’s sod-all on the DVD.
Absolutely completely totally agree. This has become an issue in general for the DVD market, and is a real pain for someone like me who still likes (or would like) to buy a physical collection. I haven't bought a disc now for a long time, as the industry has been attempting to strongarm me into buying Blu-Ray, and in doing so has been providing absolutely zero incentive to buy my films any more on my preferred format.
I'd still like to get this one, but I'll be picking it up much cheaper than the current going price.
Watched the 2D Blu Ray last night and while i enjoyed watching the film again immensely, the picture quality was extremely temperamental, sometimes it looked stunning, but then random shots featured an excessive amount of film grain which almost made it look like a worn out VHS tape, there were only maybe two or three moments in the film that were severely affected by this, but it was still kind of distracting. I wouldn't let it put you off buying the Blu Ray though. what it lacked in the picture department, it more than made up for by having some truly excellent sound, the DTS Master Audio is fantastic and among the best i've heard on Blu Ray.
Yeah, I watched mine on Saturday (thanks to Play.com... good while it lasted ), and there were some scenes that looked *awful* thanks to the "grain"... yet other parts looked gorgeous?
Totally agree about the audio. It really gave my system a good workout
I watched DREDD for the first time a couple of nights ago and I didn't like it. It's not a terrible film but there was nothing remarkeable about it. There was no ambition on the filmmaker's part. The story was uninspired and the villain was dire.
Another disappointing thing about DREDD is that while it's set in such an interesting future and environment, we don't really get to see it or see how it functions. I wanted to see more of that world - not the inside of a building. On the positive side, Karl Urban was ok as the lead character.
A sequel is extremely unlikely but hopefully someone within the next few years will try rebooting this character once again in a fresh and more ambitious film.
Comments
Another disappointing thing about DREDD is that while it's set in such an interesting future and environment, we don't really get to see it or see how it functions. I wanted to see more of that world - not the inside of a building. On the positive side, Karl Urban was ok as the lead character.
A sequel is extremely unlikely but hopefully someone within the next few years will try rebooting this character once again in a fresh and more ambitious film.
Only the one where Dredd fights Batman.
The film should succeed on its own merits and apart from some colourful 3D effects, it doesn't have any.
The casting of Lena Heady should have been a warning.:eek:
Thing is, that was the very thing I liked about it. Far too many sci fi action movies these days seems to spend endless screen time showing us the future landscape, lots of futuristic buildings, the obligatory flying cars, and usually at some point a chase scene or two to show us how proud they are of their wonderfull effects. It's become a very predictable and boring cliche. Check out the recent Total Recall remake for evidence.
I liked the fact that this movie gets straight into the action, does not waste time, and keeps the running time to a lean 90 mins.
But then if you want a big, bloated, 2 hours plus cgi-fest, there are of course plenty to choose from...
That's cool. The film is a lot closer to the original strip from 2000AD that I grew up with, so that's why I liked it.
With the awful global gross, I think most people hated it without even paying to see it.
What sort of a person would not go and see a movie that they were otherwise interested in seeing, just because they had read somewhere that it did not make a profit?
There are many, many excellent movies out there that are not financial successes, and that lack of financial success can be for lots of reasons...poor publicity, too much competition, inifficient marketing campaigns, poor release schedule etc.
Frankly, anyone who believes that only good movies make profit and those that don't must therefore be bad are utter idiots.
I would happily like to see a sequel to this movie, as most of the action took place in one location there is much more of the city yet to see, and many more possible stories and characters. And I think most people pretty much agreed that Urban was a pretty good Dredd.
I think he meant people who had seen it for free. Guilty as charged, m'lud.
Yet another possible reason the film did not do well at the box office...?
People may also have been put off by memories of the Stallone film.
My dad, a long-time 2000AD fan, wasn't aware there was a Dredd film until I talked to him about it. I had assumed he already knew. By the time he learned it from me, the film already had had its theatrical run.
He doesn't read film magazines, watch TV and use the Internet much. I'm not sure how he missed it in newspapers he regularly read (Times, Telegraph and Evening Standard), though.
It was heavily promoted in the US. The trailers were constantly on TV - weeks before the film opened. And Karl Urban was on a few chat shows promoting it. It's just one of those films that - for whatever reasons - didn't click with the majority of moviegoers.
Hope there's a sequel
Simon
It seems as though the early lack of enthusiasm surrounding this has resurfaced for the DVD. Savour this one perps, we aint getting another drokking Dredd stim!!
Very dark ,tons of blood & swearing,excellent soundtrack & the slo-mo scenes are outstandingly well done....
The 3D is excellent as well
I did think the actor playing Dredd was the worst part, and even he wasn't bad.
Oh no, really the worst part were those CHEAP bikes.
I liked the rest of the casting, Anderson was excellent, bloke of The Wire was good too.
The building/block was good, Judges uniforms were not bad but too chunky in the middle.
Any old fogie like me who is putting off seeing it just incase its another kick in the teeth : don't worry, go see it.
Absolutely completely totally agree. This has become an issue in general for the DVD market, and is a real pain for someone like me who still likes (or would like) to buy a physical collection. I haven't bought a disc now for a long time, as the industry has been attempting to strongarm me into buying Blu-Ray, and in doing so has been providing absolutely zero incentive to buy my films any more on my preferred format.
I'd still like to get this one, but I'll be picking it up much cheaper than the current going price.
Yeah, I watched mine on Saturday (thanks to Play.com... good while it lasted
Totally agree about the audio. It really gave my system a good workout
Is the whole film set inside one building?