For good, new adaptation. Agreed, that slow-mo was over-done a bit much, but it seems that's what the people demand these days. Very much action packed. Great ending sequence. I did like the slow-mo and sound effects, very well done. Just not as much would have been better.

Mega City One; an unbroken concrete landscape. Population 800,000,000 “Twelve serious crimes reported every minute. Seventeen thousand per day. We can respond to around six percent." Dredd (Karl Urban) is a Judge, a law enforcement officer with the Hall of Justice; each highly trained, physically, tactically and morally. Judge, jury, and when dictated, executioner. They are the law. Dredd is asked evaluate Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a subpar graduate with a gift, as to her potential as a Judge. Told 1 in 5 don’t survive the first day, Dredd gives Anderson the choice of which call they respond to. The call takes them to Peach Trees, a 200 storey mega block with 75,000 residents, and on to Ma-Ma’s (Lena Headey) turf. Ma-Ma, a psychotic prostitute turned drug lord, is producing a new and highly addictive drug which she sees as her ticket to expansion throughout Mega City One. The arrival of the Judges causes far reaching problems and she orders the hallways cleared and for them to be hunted down and executed. In late 2010 Pete Travis was announced as the director on Dredd and my heart sank; his 2008 film Vantage Point is a disjointed and tedious mess. Thankfully Travis really has a grip on the tight script penned by Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) and delivers a solid film filled with explosive action and over the top ultra-violence. Garland's script deftly handles the material, grounding it and never gets bogged down in exposition. Karl Urban, channeling a young Clint Eastwood, delivers an unwavering performance as Dredd; stoic and relentless. Judge Anderson is idealistic and determined and Olivia Thirlby brings a strength to the role that would have been diminished without it. As the villain Ma-Ma, Lena Headey is patchy at times. A disappointing weak delivery of an order to "Fire!" spoilt the beginning of one of the most exciting firefights of recent memory. A minor performance from Domhnall Gleeson as Ma-Ma's pasty tech guy is noteworthy. Oscar winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Antichrist) brings the gritty reality of Peach Trees to the screen with a deep focus that accentuate the long corridors and the height of 200 storeys. Grain persists throughout the hallway scenes adding to the grit and grime. Shot natively in 3D, it is among the best of late; corridors feel long, rooms confined and the slow motion effects of being under the influence of the drug looks gorgeous with its vibrant palette. Dredd is a visually arresting thrill with solid performances and a level of violence that almost borders comical. Highly recommended.

Amusing over stylized ultraviolence with the expected dialog, some of the costuming (Domhnall) was really good. Judge Dredd: Rookie, you're ready? Anderson: Yeah. Judge Dredd: You don't look ready. Judge Dredd: I was wondering when you'd remember you forgot your helmet. Anderson: Sir, a helmet can interfere with my psychic abilities. Judge Dredd: Think a bullet in the head might interfere with them more. Judge Dredd: You ready? Anderson: Yeah. Judge Dredd: You look ready.

I was blown away with the awesomeness of this movie when it came out. At the time, Judge Dredd was a joke. I AM THE LAAAAHHHWW! Classic terrible movie that stuck with the character too. That is, until the new movie came along. This is what I want in a R rated action film. It knows what it is, and it doesn't try to be some sort of deep, emotional drama with action. No, it is a simple plot, with a simple conflict that is super exciting to watch. I had actually forgetten a lot of the details since I first saw this one. It was nice to live through it again. The whole sequence with the homeless guy is one that I enjoyed going through blind twice. And the outcome of those giant chain guns coming out... wonderful. But the very best part of the whole movie is the fact that Karl Urban nails that role. Somehow he keeps that frustrated and annoyed frowny face going for every shot, yet still manages to show us what he's thinking internally. Urban has a sad frowny face, a happy frowny face, a bored frowny face, and even a respectful frowny face. That is acting folks.

Quite simply a superior action film, and whilst it's no masterpiece (then again, it's not supposed to be) it's as good as fans could ever have hoped.