What the critics are saying about Dredd

MANILA, Philippines -  The future America is an irradiated wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington D.C., lies Mega City One — a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called judges who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner.

Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate judge, who is challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge — a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of Slo-Mo.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation.

A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow judges rarely dare to venture. When three thugs are murdered very violently, Dredd, along with Anderson, discovered that the deaths might be linked to the rise of the new drug Slo-Mo, which, as the name would indicate, slows things down a whole lot and generally makes them look pretty spectacular in 3D.

The climatic scene takes place in a 200-storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute-turned-drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. With the body count climbing, Dredd and Anderson must engage in the battle for their survival.

The inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and director Pete Travis bring Dredd to life as a viciously futuristic action film. Filmed in spectacular 3D format, the film returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip. Dredd opens Sept. 19 in all cinemas nationwide.

Here are what the critics are saying about Dredd:

Geoff Berkshire of Variety wrote: “Grim, gritty and ultra-violent, Dredd reinstates the somber brutality missing from the UK comicbook icon’s previous screen outing.”

Jonathan Crocker of Total Film opined: “Grungy, compact and delightfully violent, Dredd wants to hit you as hard as it can.”

Hollywood.com critic Matt Patches, meanwhile, commented: “Dredd is a grimy, smoldering, relentless 90 minutes that manage to inject its in-your-face fight scenes with an unexpected bit of humanity.”

What Culture’s Shaun Munro called Dredd a “rare reboot both necessary and successful, doing what (Sylvester) Stallone’s stolid effort couldn’t with double the budget — excite, entertain and stay crucially true to John Wagner’s unwaveringly dark vision.”