5 Things To Know About Dredd

5 Things To Know About Dredd

Planning on seeing Dredd when it comes out on Friday this week, yet know nothing about the character? Fear not, member of the bluffer elite! Here are 5 things you should know about the judge, jury and executioner of the future.

5 - The Franchise

Originating from British comic books in 1977, Dredd has been a popular character for fans worldwide. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where "Judges" combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. He and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. 

A film adaptation in 1995 saw none other than Sylvester Stallone don the iconic mask and take on the role of Judge Dredd. The film recieved very negative reviews upon its release, mainly due to the fact that the appeal of Dredd is the fact he never removes his helmet. In deference to Stallone, the film's expensive Hollywood star, the moviemakers decided to change this and in more than one scene, Dredd is seen in full. In America, the film recieved many "Worst film of the year" awards. Ouch.

Now, director Pete Travis (known for his work on TV's Cold Feet and 2008's Vantage Point) is giving Dredd a better, bigger and more badass representation on the big screen for a new generation of cinema fans who expect nothing less than pulse pounding action.

4 - The Man

So Judge (Joe) Dredd is one of the street judges, one-man legal systems who have the power to catch, try and sentence law breakers on the spot. In Dredd's case, he's armed with a personalised Lawgiver pistol, knife and stun gas grenades. He also gets to ride a cool motorbike called the Lawmaster. Dredd is as repressed as they come, emotion-wise, but has, in his time, captured criminals, stopped wars and – on at least one occasion in his backstory – saved this and all universes from total annihiliation. So, y'know...cheers mate!

3 -  The Actor

New Zealand born actor Karl Urban will bring Dredd into gloriously gruff life in this particular adaptation of the comic-book hero. Urban is known to the mainstream masses for playing horse-riding warrior Eomer in the last two installments of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as the Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy.

Urban has described the role as "quite challenging" due to the fact that, because Dredd's helmet covers the entire top half of his face, all of his emotions must be conveyed without the use of his eyes. The role also demanded physical preparation, as Urban undertook intense physical training to become "a beast of a man," as well as weapon training and learning how to operate under fire.

2 - The Rookie

25 year old actress Olivia Thirlby plays Dredd's new protege Judge Cassandra Anderson - except she's not just any rookie. Cassandra just so happens to be a mutant with psychic powers (bear with me), powers which allow her to sense the emotions of another person. Okay, so it's hardly Magneto's metal bending abilities, but it's still pretty cool. The events of Dredd will be Cassandra's first day on the job alongside Dredd's superslaying abilities, so she is likely to be our eyes into this futuristic world where he is the law. Think Ellen Page's character in Inception, only psychic.

Speaking of Miss Page, Thirlby is most  known for playing the eccentric best friend of her character in Juno, however she seems to understand her character in Dredd rather well indeed. "Cassandra exists in a grey area," she said, "where everything is enhanced or clouded by the fact she knows what is going on in the very interior of a person". Deep. Oh, and she also undertook plenty of physical training for the role including how to perform a perfect roundhouse kick. Chuck Norris would be proud.

1 - The Plot

In a violent future the world is a wasteland, victim to an unspecified fallout. Somewhere off an eastern coast lies Mega City One - a vast metropolis home to streets ruled by druglords and criminals. The only thing fighting for order amongst the deadly chaos is the urban police force known as 'Judges', who possess the combined power of Judge, Jury and Executioner. In short, if they catch anyone doing something they don't like they'll put them on trial, sentence them and carry it out right there on the spot.

Dredd is the ultimate judge, challenged with scouring the city of its latest drug-fuelled trend - a new substance by the name of "Slo-mo" that has its users experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. Trippy. 

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities due to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighbourhood where fellow judges rarely dare to venture - a 200 story vertical slum controlled by a drug lord, Ma-Ma. When Dredd captures one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma wages a brutal war against the Judges. With the gory body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson confront the odds and engage in a relentlessly bloody battle for their survival.

There you go, you can now bluff your way through a conversation about Dredd 3D (not a guarantee)!

Dredd 3D is released in cinemas this Friday (September 7th), so check back to Movies Under the Microscope for a full review. In the meantime you can check out the trailer above, featuring a pretty cool remix of La Roux's "In For The Kill."