Dredd/strong>
Directed by Peter Travis
Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey & Wood Harris
In cinemas now
As far as action movies go, Dredd deserves to be praised as an enjoyable example of the genre. However, the only way progressive-minded people will be able to stomach it is to avoid thinking about the political implications of the world of Judge Dredd (played by Karl Urban).
Set in a future anarchic, post-apocalyptic United States, the movie focuses on the incorruptible Dredd, one of the toughest members of the heavily armed and brutal police force known as judges. The judges have the powers of 鈥渏udge, jury and executioner鈥, and are presented as a force of 鈥渙rder in the chaos鈥.
Dredd is tasked with assessing idealistic rookie judge Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), who wants to use her psychic abilities to 鈥渕ake a difference鈥 to society.
The assessment mission goes wrong when a violent drug gang traps the two in a huge residential complex, forcing them to fight their way out.
The judges鈥 role is shown in all its horrifyingly reactionary glory 鈥 Dredd hands out summary jailings and executions of the poor without hesitation. The dead are carted off for 鈥渞ecycling鈥 with utter indifference.
Mercifully, however, the film does not go out of its way to justify the situation. Based on the British comic series first published in 2000AD magazine, the film is set up to simply accept the situation as a given, and focuses its attention on the spectacular (and highly gory) action.
This makes it possible to enjoy the film despite the reactionary elements.
For those looking for political rays of light in the reactionary gloom, it is possible to read a subtle critique of the role of judges.
The most obvious moment is when a corrupt judge tells Dredd the city is a 鈥渕eat grinder鈥 where 鈥減eople go in one end and meat comes out the other鈥. The judges鈥 role in this, he says, is to 鈥渢urn the handle鈥. Dredd has no answer to this except to keep shooting, seemingly validating the comment.
Likewise, Anderson鈥檚 鈥渁ssessment鈥 shows how people must be brutalised to be able to function as a judge.
Despite being the hero, Dredd is totally unrelatable as a character. Half of his face is permanently covered by a helmet for the whole film, with his emotions expressed through variations of his permanent scowl. His status as the ultimate Clint Eastwood-style hard-ass is another of the film鈥檚 unquestioned facts, and his motivations and background go unexplored.
Although his dry sense of humour is a likable feature, Dredd comes off as a deeply alienated person.
The film is best thought of as a guilty pleasure, enjoyable as long as viewers switch off their political radars.