Dredd is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written by Alex Garland.The British/South African co-production is based on the 2000 AD comic stripJudge Dredd and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd, a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury and executioner in the vast dystopian metropolis of Mega-City One that lies within a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Alongside rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), Dredd is forced to bring order to a feared 200-story slum and its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
Garland began writing the script as early as 2006, although development of a newJudge Dredd film adaptation was not announced until December 2008, that would be unrelated to the 1995 film adaptation Judge Dredd. Principal photography began in November 2010, with an estimated US$45 million budget. The project was shot using3D cameras throughout on practical sets, and on location in the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg. Dredd was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom, and on 21 September 2012 worldwide.
Plot
The future United States is an irradiated waste land known as the Cursed Earth. On the east coast of North America lies Mega-City One, a vast, violent metropolis containing 800 million residents where 17,000 crimes are reported daily and "Slo-Mo", an addictive new drug that slows the user's perception of time to 1% of normal, has been introduced. The only force of order is theJudges, who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Judge Dredd is tasked by the Chief Judge with evaluating rookie Judge Anderson, a psychic who has failed the tests to become a full Judge. Elsewhere, in the 200-story slum tower block Peach Trees, drug lord Madeline Madrigal, known as Ma-Ma, infuses three men with Slo-Mo and throws their skinned bodies from the top of the tower. Dredd and Anderson respond and learn of a drug den, which they assault. They arrest Kay, one of Ma-Ma's henchmen, after Anderson psychically detects his involvement in the murders. To prevent Kay being removed from the building and interrogated about her operation, Ma-Ma's forces seize the tower's security control room and seal the building using its blast shields under the pretense of a security test, preventing the Judges from leaving or summoning help.Ma-Ma orders Dredd's and Anderson's deaths. Several groups of armed men unsuccessfully try to kill the pair as the Judges proceed through the building with Kay to find safety. After arriving at one floor, the Judges are assaulted by Ma-Ma and her men using gatling guns that cut through the building's concrete walls and residents. The gunfire damages one of the tower's outer walls, allowing the Judges onto a balcony that enables them to call for backup. Ma-Ma sends her right-hand man Caleb to confirm the Judges' deaths. Dredd and Anderson, with no other avenue of escape, reenter the building. Dredd overcomes Caleb and throws him from the tower in view of Ma-Ma.
Enraged at Ma-Ma's massacre of the tower's innocent residents, Dredd beats Kay for information. Anderson intervenes and uses her abilities to read Kay's mind. She learns Peach Trees is the center of Slo-Mo production and distribution. Anderson suggests they hide while awaiting assistance but Dredd insists on moving up the tower in pursuit of Ma-Ma. Judges Volt andGuthrie respond to Dredd's call, but are unable to access the tower when Ma-Ma's computer expert persuades the pair that call is part of the security drill. While Dredd and Anderson are confronted by armed children, Kay escapes his bonds and takes Anderson hostage. He escapes with her in an elevator to Ma-Ma's base on the 200th floor.
While Dredd works his way toward Ma-Ma, she calls on the aid of corrupt Judges Lex, Kaplan, Chan, and Alvarez to kill Dredd. After meeting Chan, Dredd notices that he does not ask about Anderson's status, instigating a fight in which Chan is killed. Kay is killed when he attempts to execute Anderson with her own weapon, triggering an explosive failsafe when it does not recognize its wielder. Anderson escapes and meets Kaplan, whom she kills after reading her mind. Elsewhere, Dredd kills Alvarez but runs out of ammunition and is shot by Lex. Anderson arrives and kills Lex as he prepares to finish Dredd. The pair obtain the code to Ma-Ma's apartment and confront the drug lord. Anderson is wounded by one of Ma-Ma's men. Ma-Ma informs Dredd a device on her wrist will detonate explosives on the top floors upon her death and destroy the building. Dredd, believing the signal will not reach the top floor's explosives through the tower's concrete floors and walls from below, infuses Ma-Ma with Slo-Mo and throws her from the building to her death. In the aftermath. Anderson accepts she has failed her evaluation by being disarmed, and leaves. The Chief Judge asks Dredd about Anderson's performance. He responds that she has passed.
Cast
- A famed and feared Judge, possessing the powers of Judge, Jury and Executioner. Producer Allon Reich described Dredd as "an extreme character, and he administers justice with an extreme lack of prejudice." Urban himself approached the producers about joining the film. He found the role challenging as the character never removes his helmet, requiring Urban to convey emotion without the use of his eyes. He approached the character as an average man with an insanely tough job in a fragmenting society, likening his heroism to that of a fireman. The role also demanded physical preparation, and Urban undertook intensive physical training to become a "beast of a man", as well as weapons and technical training to learn how to operate when under fire, how to arrest criminals and breach doors. He insisted on performing his own bike stunts for realism. For Dredd's voice, he attained a raspy and harsh tone akin to "a saw cutting through bone" that he found difficult to sustain.
- A rookie Judge and genetic mutant with powerful psychic abilities. Her abilities cause her to sense the emotions of others. Thirlby contrasted her character with Dredd's "black and white" perspective, describing Anderson as existing "in a grey area where everything is enhanced or clouded by the fact she knows what is going on in the very interior of a person". She undertook weapons and combat training including learning how to perform a roundhouse kick to make her believably physically commanding. The character was partially inspired by singer Debbie Harry.
- Lena Headey as Ma-Ma:
- A former prostitute turned drug lord and criminal kingpin who is the sole supplier of a new addictive drug, Slo-Mo. Her performance was inspired by punk-rock singer Patti Smith. Reich described the character as someone who does "not care at all about what anybody thinks or feels and she will do, and behave, as she wants." Discussing her character, Headey said: "I think of her like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her... she’s ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen... She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come." Before Headey's casting, the character was described as a heavily made-up and scarred, obese, older woman. Her real name is Madelaine Madrigal.
- Wood Harris as Kay:
- Ma-Ma's clansman. Harris described the character as a villain, but one that sees himself as no worse than the Judges. Harris said: "...Dredd goes around literally judging and killing people if they do wrong... Anyone who goes against the system might end up the bad guy. So I think Kay has justified fighting that in his mind."
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