I try and scatter my attention liberally but I’m afraid this is the second film from 2012 to get a recommendation in less than a week. And I saw it on the same trip that got me Moonrise Kingdom, too.
The reason I want to mention it now is because there is a gorgeous new collectors edition 4K UHD edition out from ViaVision (via Madman) and I should recommend it while there are still copies in stores. It has three discs – the UHD, Blu-ray 3D and flat Blu-ray, some postcards and one of those lenticular covers where the picture changes when you tilt it.
The transfer and extras appear to be the same as the original 2017 Lionsgate release, a release which was not well regarded at the time but I found it to be more than acceptable. Pretty good looking, in fact.
I reviewed the 3D cinema release while I was on that USA/UK trip in 2012:
Also achieving pretty much everything it set out to do is Dredd 3D, a second attempt to turn the beloved but taciturn chin of future law enforcement into a Hollywood franchise (the first belonged to Sylvester Stallone in 1995). Mega-City One is an ungovernable seething mass of humanity overseen by “Judges”, mobile cops with lots of firepower and the right to sentence criminals to their punishment right there on the spot – including death if necessary. I’m given to understand – from fans of the original 2000AD comic book – that the film does a fine job of offering tidbits to the fans and can confirm that it also offers a fair few thrills to the neutrals.
While there are several notable names involved in the project – screenwriter Alex Garland wrote the novel The Beach and the scripts for 28 Days Later and Never Let Me Go, Dredd Karl Urban is a graduate of the Shortland Street School for Comedy & Drama as well Starfleet Academy, but the most interesting name on the crew sheet is cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who, if you saw Keanu Reeves’ doco Side by Side on the transition from film to digital, you’ll know is the most inventive and adventurous director of photography around. The 3D ultra slow motion is often quite beautiful despite the blood and teeth flying around.
A plus not mentioned in that review, but welcome nonetheless, is that Dredd has a running time of only 95 minutes.
Pete Travis is the credited director but Urban reportedly considers the film to be screenwriter/producer Garland’s debut. And he was there.
Also reviewed in that Capital Times column from October 2012: Aussie crowd-pleaser The Sapphires, animated Adam Sandler in Hotel Transylvania, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, arthouse fantasy Ruby Sparks, and Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth in the franchise.
Where to watch Dredd
Aotearoa: Streaming on Netflix and TVNZ+ (free with ads). Also on limited edition 4K UHD.
Australia: Streaming on Netflix and Stan
Canada: Streaming on Netflix and Prime Video
Ireland & UK: Digital rental
USA: Streaming on Prime Video
Correction
In yesterday’s newsletter I implied that the forthcoming Terror-Fi festival was only in Auckland and Wellington. I obviously hadn’t scrolled far enough down their webpage and should now confirm that there are also screenings in Christchurch. The error is regretted.