O Juiz

Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to 1995's Judge Dredd.

Plot In A Paragraph: Judge Dredd, (a blue eyed Stallone) is convicted for a crime he did not commit, and he must fight to clear his name.

Armand Assante (an actor I normally like) tries too hard and over acts awfully, but he is not alone. Diane Lane and Max Von Sydow apart, the acting is bad, bad, bad (Stallone included)

In the Dredd comics, tradition dictates that Dredd does not off his helmet, thus his face has mostly only fleetingly appeared in full, but this mean Stallone would never show his face clearly, so to placate his ego, 15 minutes in to the movie and the helmet is off. It's a shame this movie doesn't work, as Sly looks the part, and it could have been a franchise. However the ball is dropped and he must take the lions share of the blame.

In interviews, Stallone said he felt the film was supposed to be a comedy/action film, and demanded rewrites to make it even more comedic. The director and screenwriter, however, had intended a darker approach, which led to many difficulties behind the scenes.Director Danny Cannon was so disheartened over his constant creative disputes with Stallone that he swore he would never again work with another big-name actor. He also claimed that the final version was completely different from the script, due to the changes Stallone demanded.

Exciting , big-budgeted film dealing with a standard comic book dystopian near-future City where rules fearful judges and happens fantastic events . The source comic book has been a cult favorite in England for thirty years . Loud , spectacular and violent movie set in a future world of urban chaos and based on the comic books by Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner ; being well adapted by Danny Cannon . In the third Milennium , the futuristic world changed , climate , nations , all were upheaval . The Earth transformed into a poisonous scorched desert , known as ¨The Cursed Earth¨. Millions of people crowed into a few mega Cities where roving bands of street savages created violence the justice system could not control . The Planet Earth has changed into a virtually uninhabitable place . All of the Earth's population have crowded into the cities across the planet , now known as "Mega Cities¨ . Law as we know it collapsed . From the decay rose a new order whose rule of law is administrated by authorities on motorbikes . A society ruled by a new elite force . A Force with the power to dispense both justice and punishment . They were the police , jury and executioner all in one . They were the judges . Around desert lies Mega City One . It is a violent, futuristic city where a new Justice System came from the ashes , the police has the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, they were called "Judges" and dispense justice on the riot-torn streets and buildings of Mega City . They fight to control the block riots that over-running the city . The crimes in this "Mega city" became so violent and so powerful, that the regular justice system was powerless to contain, then it collapsed completely . A cop named Dredd , most feared of all , teams with a another judge named Hershey (Diane Lane) to take down criminal gangs , but Dredd is double-crossed and being framed for murder . Dredd fights to clear his name helped by the women-judge and a likable delinquent (Rob Schneider), a renegade misfit named Ferguson , must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival . But an escaped convict named Rico (Armand Assante) 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 . Rico is an ex-judge who was artificially created and seeks vendetta and power confronting his half-brother , Dredd . Judge Dredd soon released from his imprisonment looks for his genetically contrived evil brother and takes place the final battle .

This slam-bang film packs big names , noisy action , thrills , chills , suspense , convoluted screenplay , high body count , loads of massive villains and lots of violence . Some interesting plotting is partially lost in a sea of hard-edge violence , overripe acting , exaggerated explosions and excessive shots . Visually imaginative action Sci-Fi that contains fast and furious fun with echoes of ¨Metropolis¨, ¨Things to come¨ and ¨Blade Runner¨ . The exciting screenplay throws in Femme cop and a likable inmate , Rob Schneider , who acts as comic relief. The highlights of the movie are a smashing Airbone pursuit on flying motor-bikes and the breathtaking , overwhelming finale . Silvester Stallone's iconic presence is good as a helmeted , emotionless future-cop who dispenses the square jaw-lines and a summary justice. Fizzing visuals , video game-like special effects and impressive production design showing a large megalopolis in ¨Blade Runner¨ style . Praiseworthy set design by Nigel Phelps who creates a doleful as well as amazing ghetto City . Atmospheric original music by Alan Silvestri , composed by means of synthesizer . Colorful , though sometimes dark cinematography by Adrian Biddle . The precocious technical mastery displayed by Danny Cannon is spectacular and he delivers narrative fluidity . However , the film failed at box office ; Silvester Stallone , Sly, hoped , in vain , the project would provide him another profitable franchise but it didn't take place . Many years later was shot Dredd 3D (2012) by Pete Travis with Karl Urban , Olivia Thirby and Lena Headley . Rating : 6,5 . Acceptable action film and it will appeal to Stallone enthusiasts and action fans .

In the future the world has been scorched and is uninhabitable. The cities are overflowing and cramped. Violence and crime has gotten to the stages that the courts and juries of the past were unable to cope. The Judges were planned to be police, judge and executioners – the ultimate law keepers. The strictest of these is Judge Dredd. However Dredd's history is revealed when his long-forgotten genetic twin escapes from captivity and kills high ranking council members. The DNA evidence points to Dredd and he is sentenced accordingly. However he escapes with hacker Fergie and returns to the city to try and stop Rico's plan for his own laws.

It's been a few years since I saw this in the cinema and I thought I'd give it another go. However I had only average memories of it – memories that were pretty close to the mark now that I've seen it again. The film starts reasonably well and has a good little bit of humour in it – the recycling bot that says `recycle waste for food, it's good for the environment and OK for you!' is my favourite! However any nice touches like this and any debate on the nature of the Judges is quickly lost in a by-the-numbers blockbuster.

The action is OK but not great and the film doesn't manage to ever really have a genuine sense of excitement or tension. Director Cannon is much better at style than substance and here he proves that again. The cartoon violence will be OK for teenagers but is too basic and undemanding for many I think. The cityscapes are quite good but a tad OTT. Bladerunner got it pitch perfect all those years ago and every film since has tried to up the ante unnecessarily.

Stallone is a pretty good choice for Dredd because of his strong chin. I didn't care less if he removed his helmet or not, but his constant speaking in catchphrases did annoy me a bit. Oh – and I've heard a life time of `law' and `court' puns and kiss-off lines. Schneider is a misjudged comedy sidekick, he isn't used well and just gets in the way. The film would have been better without his `relief' and gone darker. Assante is a strong villain and the council is full of famous faces. Lane has nothing to do as Judge Hershey.

Overall this is a cartoon for teenagers and those just looking for lots of bangs. However, even for that crowd this may prove a little basic – I wanted it to be more sophisticated than it was and be darker (but not just violent as it has been misinterpreted as here). Maybe worth a watch with a beer and pizza but the fact that we haven't been treated to a JD2 speaks volumes.

I'll preface this by saying that I have never read the Judge Dredd comic. That being said, I bashed this movie when my friends and I watched first watched it back in 1995 in the theater. I am now throughly eating my words. This thing is amazingly good and entertaining throwaway cheese. There is zero originality here. This is Blade Runner meets Demolition Man meets Texas Chainsaw massacre meets Superman 2 meets Star Wars Trilogy. This movie is almost a replica of Demolition Man but is tons more fun. Stallone, like in Demolition Man, plays a supercop. He's accused of a crime he didn't commit and is punished, like in Demolition Man. There are other parallels along the way. He meets a Texas Chainsaw Massacre family in his exile, with an android member who looks suspiciously like Terry Bradshaw. Armand Assante is really great as the villain, Diane Lane excels in a role that doesn't fit her and Rob Schneider is stunningly endearing as the third wheel in a party of two. Max Von Sydow and Jurgen Prochnow add their talents to give the movie a seasoned flavor. Stallone's intro is pathetic but he excels along the way. The digital effects also work themselves into the story very well. I'm stunned at how good this thing is upon reviewing it.

Sylvester Stallone did a great job as the stern Judge Dredd from the 2000 A.D. comic book.

I used to read a lot of the early Judge Dredd stories in 2000 A.D. Dredd was a law enforcer in a future time where there were no juries, no trials, just instant justice dispensed on the spot. If you were guilty the emotionless Dredd would issue whatever punishment he saw fit.

Back to the movie anyway. It's not always easy to translate a comic book hero to the big screen without changing things but they did a great job with this movie. If you were to look at a photo of Stallone in this movie and compare it to a drawing of the comic book Dredd you would see no difference. Stallone was Dredd down to a tee.

The story is great as well. Dredd is accused of a crime he did not commit and he must prove his innocence. The action scenes in the movie were fantastic.

All in all, a brilliant film. I just wish there'd have been a sequel.