Dredd (2012)

Not quite a remake since the 1995 Judge Dredd was such a notorious misfire, Dredd delivers a solid and entertaining, if not somewhat limited, action film to fans waiting for a Dredd film done right. I've never read the Dredd comics, but I know one of the big issues with the 1995 film is that Stallone took his helmet off. Well, rejoice fans, Karl Urban keeps his on the entire time. The film's story is not much more than a standard video game plot, a sort of sci-fi Die Hard where Judge Dredd and rookie sidekick have to fight their way through a locked-down building complex full of obstacles and enemies to get to the boss-woman at the top. It's not particularly original or special, but the visual flair and the execution of the action saves it from the heap-pile of generic re-dos. While I didn't think the film was mind blowing, it did whet my appetite for more Mega City and has me hoping for a sequel where budget constraints won't limit them to a single (albeit large) location. Dredd reminded me those mid-grade 80s action films that didn't really push the genre, but were well-made enough to keep you watching.

7/10

Judge Dredd (1995)

Judge Dredd is a big, dumb action flick starring Sylvester Stallone that is really hated on, but it isn't really as bad as people claim. Sure, you've got Sylvester Stallone and Armand Assante overacting. Sure, you've got a terribly written script and a derivative plot. None of that really matters. The film is actually pretty fun. What really brings the film down, though, is the presence of Rob Schneider in the second half of the film. I actually thought that the first half of the film was quite enjoyable, and I felt like the second half would have been fine, too, had it not been for his constant blabbering. I don' t think a single one of Schneider's comments is actually funny. They're so poorly written and delivered that they're not even "so bad they're funny." They're just bad. Basically, I think Judge Dredd could have stood its own as a polished and fun (yet somewhat bland) action film, but Rob Schneider had to ruin it for everyone. Someone should fan-edit him out. Oh, I forgot to mention: Diane Lane is stunning in this.

6/10