Dredd (2012)
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A law enforcer with the power of judge, jury, and executioner must battle a drug lord in a high-rise block of a dystopian metropolis.
The story
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the only force for order in the sprawling metropolis of Mega-City One are the Judges, who act as judge, jury, and executioner. The Chief Judge tasks veteran officer Judge Dredd with assessing the potential recruit Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities. The pair is forced to investigate a 200-storey high-rise block of apartments known as Peach Trees. Upon arrival, they discover a dangerous drug den run by a local drug lord, Ma-Ma. The officers must navigate the building's defenses and confront the criminal elements within to bring order to the district.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the future, the United States is a wasteland called the Cursed Earth, except for Mega-City One, a metropolis of 800 million people. Judge Dredd, a veteran officer, is tasked with evaluating the psychic abilities of rookie Cassandra Anderson. They are sent to the Peach Trees, a 200-storey tower where drug lord Madeline 'Ma-Ma' Madrigal distributes 'Slo-Mo,' a drug that slows the user's perception of time. After discovering the drug den, the Judges are trapped inside by Ma-Ma's forces who seal the building's doors. As they fight through the building, they face off against Ma-Ma's henchmen and eventually encounter corrupt Judges who have joined Ma-Ma's side. During the conflict, Anderson is captured and later rescued. In the final confrontation, Dredd faces Ma-Ma. To prevent her from detonating a device that would destroy the building, Dredd forces her to inhale Slo-Mo and throws her down the atrium to her death. Following the victory, Dredd confirms that Anderson has passed her assessment.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; South Africa
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Pete Travis
- Writers
- Alex Garland · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Karl Urban · Dredd; Olivia Thirlb · Cassandra Anderson; Lena Headey · Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal; Wood Harris · Kay
- Genres
- science fiction; action
- Themes
- justice; law enforcement; drug addiction
- Tone and mood
- violent; gritty
- Premise and plot tags
- dystopian; cyberpunk; police procedural
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd
- Franchise connections
- Judge Dredd
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- Critics were generally positive about the film's visual effects, casting and action sequences, while criticism focused on excessive violence as well as a perceived lack of the satirical elements that are found in the source comic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 80% · review count: 171; Metacritic · score: 60 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- The Art of 3D · Empire Awards · 2013 · won
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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