Writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra brought Judge Dredd to life back in 1977 for the British science fiction comic anthology 2,000 AD, and the comic has been running ever since. The very general world-definition goes something like this: Dredd is a part of the uniformed “Judges,” American law enforcement officers in a violent and broken futuristic city. “Judges” are empowered with the right to be police, judge, and jury. And executioner.
An adaptation called DREDD has been filming with Karl Urban (LOTR, RED) as Judge Dredd and Olivia Thirlby (JUNO, THE DARKEST HOUR) as his sidekick-of-sorts Judge Anderson. Scripted by Alex Garland (SUNSHINE, 28 DAYS LATER) and directed by Pete Travis (VANTAGE POINT), there have been a few whisperings of trouble but all seems yet on track for the 3D movie’s September 21st release date. As far as DREDD goes, Wagner shared:
“The plot is about Dredd and his world. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city – perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film; they tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot. “Dredd” homes in on the essential job of judging – instant justice in a violent future city. I like the actors, they’re well cast and they handled their parts well. Olivia Thirlby is perfect as Anderson, the young psi judge. She gives the character a touching vulnerability. Karl Urban will not remove his helmet and will not kiss his costar.”
And as for the equally-reviled-by-critics-and-fans-alike movie JUDGE DREDD which starred Sylvester Stallone that came out in 1995? Says Wagner:
“It didn’t have that much to do with Dredd the character as we know him. I don’t think Stallone was a bad Dredd, though it would have been better and lent him more cred if he hadn’t revealed his face… Some of the CGI was very good, and the re-creations of the Angel Gang and the robot. The robot actually came from a Pat Mills story and didn’t belong in Dredd, but it looked good. If the plot had revolved around characters like them the film would have been more successful.”
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