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According to Drew Dietsch
| Published
Judge Dredd is a film that almost no one wants to defend. A box office flop and critical disaster, the mega-budget sci-fi action flick is remembered as nothing more than a footnote by most movie fans.
Twenty-five years later, Judge Dredd deserves reconsideration for many reasons. And as the world becomes aware of the brutality and unchecked power wielded by the police in this time of global protest, it seems appropriate to look back at a film that really addressed some of these issues.
Which Judge Dredd got right
Before we get into the inevitable politics Judge Dreddwe should pay service to some of the surface elements of the film from 1995. Because as a piece of pure production, this is a film that needs to be pushed.
Production designer Nigel Phelps, whose work dates back to 1989 Batman on Pokemon Detective Pikachutakes incredible inspiration from both 2000 AD source material a science fiction world-building epics like Blade Runner. With a reported budget of $90 million, Judge Dredd is a film that knows it has to highlight its specific futuristic look in every arena. And it does.
Judge Dredd it’s part of an era where genre blockbusters were becoming the most expensive they’ve ever been. Many new technologies and classic cinematography have never been more accessible to filmmakers. Before studios believed that most effects work could be handled by CG alone, the mid-to-late 1990s saw a period in which digital effects and practical work combined in the most effective ways. This movie is one of the best examples of that. It is a beautifully tangible production that should be celebrated as such.
There are even more technical elements Judge Dredd that need their time in the sun. Score by legendary composer Alan Silvestri (Back to the future, Predator, Avengers: Endgame) does his best riff on that Basil Poledouris flamboyance you hear in movies like RoboCop and Starship Troopers. Director Danny Cannon and his cinematographer Adrian Biddle shoot the film with colorful glee and enjoy the giant world in which they play. The costumes are stellar in every way, especially Gianni Versace donning the Judge’s iconic outfit. It’s a film that relishes every bit of comic flair it has. This is not grounded or harsh. This is a comic book movie and a well done one at that. The fact that the film opens with a montage of colorful comic book images should tell you what it’s about.
Here is where things get controversial for several reasons. One of these reasons is related to 2012 movie, Dredd. The film was widely praised by critics and fans, but on revisiting both Judge Dredd films, the 2012 version fails big where the 1995 version (mostly) succeeds: it’s a faithful piece of satire about fascist militarized police.
IN Judge DreddDredd is eventually framed for the murder of journalist Vartis Hammond, who plans to expose the Justice Department as corrupt. Hammond comes to believe that the Justice Department is helping to promote violent crime in order to enact policies that will give him even more power. This is a film that clearly wants to explore the idea of systemic problems when it comes to policing. The idea of making Dredd, a character who treats the law like a religion, a victim of this corrupt system is fantastic drama and commentary. It feels like the best possible story to tell if you want to be faithful to the source material’s critical commentary on policing.
And while this element is present unlike the 2012 version, it will eventually get a short cut. Because while Judge Dredd works like a flamboyant popcorn sci-fi actioner, it fails in a few key ways.
What went wrong with this mega budget comic book adaptation
There are a number of things that clearly do not work Judge Dredd. I say this as someone who still has a lot of fun with the movie. As an adaptation, many fans find it downright sacrilegious that Dredd sometimes takes off his helmet (which he never does in the comics). They don’t like the overall “mainstreaming” of the tone to be something that could appeal to a wider audience. Those aren’t the problems I have with the film.
Yes, it’s worth talking about Judge Dredd as a star vehicle for Sylvester Stallone. Like many films that are tailored to a certain celebrity’s personality and perception, this film’s material is often manipulated into something less unique. Stallone must have a catchphrase, a comedy sidekick in Rob Schneider, and be portrayed as the square-jawed hero who saves the day. Stallone isn’t bad in the film, but he is required to fit a square peg into the round satire the film aims to achieve.
On the opposite end, you have Armand Assante as the villain Rico. Even though Assante is equally deprived of nuance, here it is big and bold. He plays the role as if it were a guest spot in the 60s Batman tv show. This is fun in a campy way, but it undermines some of the dramatic burden his villain is meant to carry. In fact, most of the excellent cast—Diane Lane, Jürgen Prochnow, Max von Sydow! – they do a really great job with what they get, but what they get ultimately fails them.
And while many will decry the cheesiness Judge Dredd as a villain, this is not where the film deserves your scorn. In fact, the cheesiness actually helped keep this movie as a piece of entertainment worth revisiting. A really big criticism is how the movie ends.
After revealing that Dredd and Rico are clones of Chief Justice Fargo (Max von Sydow) and that Rico wants to take over the Department of Justice and replace all judges with clones who will do his psychotic bidding, Dredd is able to kill Rico and stop his plan. At this point, it is fully revealed that the Justice Department was built on lies and the entire Supreme Court Council was murdered. The system was exposed and largely burned out. The judges watch Judge Dredd to see what he will do. They want him to become the new head of the council.
His response? “I’m just a street judge. Although he recommends that his partner Judge Hershey (Diane Lane) take the spotlight instead, Judge Dredd wants to get back to business as usual. It is here that the film fails in its attempt to convey a strong enough message about police reform. He’s thinking about change outright, but he’s not committing to a big enough statement.
This is the place Judge DreddThe decision to pander to mainstream sensibilities undermines anything subversive it might be doing. While that means it actually works on many broad levels, it never manages to hammer home the elements that make it stand out.
Twenty-five years later, Judge Dredd it acts as a monument to big-budget genre filmmaking. As a piece of pure production, it must be heralded as one of the best acts of the 90s. Everything about the film’s texture is a resounding success. And even its cheesiness helped cement the film as a piece of polished silliness. If the film’s satire had worked, it might have aged even better.
