America as wasteland

MANILA, Philippines – Dredd 3D depicts the future America as a wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One — a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of being the judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge — a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture — a 200-storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute-turned-druglord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and director Pete Travis bring Dredd to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film. Filmed in 3D with stunning slow motion photography sequences, the film returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip.

The film is re-boot as drastic as Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. This R-rated, sci-fi actioner from director Pete Travis and screenwriter Alex Garland should find an appreciative audience among serious-minded fanboys and gorehounds.

The action unfolds on a futuristic Earth ravaged by wars and divided into overcrowded urban centers known as Mega Cities, patrolled by Judges, members of an all-powerful police force equipped with the latest technology and bestowed with the responsibility of rendering life-or-death verdicts at the scene of a crime.

Dredd the character is also something of a cross between Christian Bale’s Batman and Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name.” He’s a badass of few words and a gravelly voice. While Karl Urban, who plays Dredd, isn’t permitted to reveal much humanity behind the man, he does a fine job embodying the more mythic qualities of Dredd as an upright law enforcer no lowlife would want to confront.

Relentless carnage bombards the viewer from all sides, even more so in impressively utilized 3D. Heads are smashed, bullets rip through body parts and one larynx is memorably destroyed, accompanied by the throbbing sounds of Paul Leonard-Morgan’s bass-heavy original score. Even though both the heroes and the villains prove equally barbarous, there’s never any question as to who’s good or bad on this planet.