I really was quite a fan of Dredd, I thought the actors, post-staff, director, writers and cinematographer all did an outstanding job. However, there is one man in the crew who makes the rest look bad. By comparison. Because Paul Leonard-Morgan's soundtrack is by leaps and bounds the standout piece of what was already a decent film by its own right. His work on Dredd is praise enough (he also did spectacular thing's for Limitless in 2011). I never got into the deeper Judge Dredd universe (ie. 2000 AD comics) and almost all of my knowledge comes from cursory internet searches, and that "Dredd VS Death" video game. But from what I can gather, Dredd is a more honest depiction of the source material than the Stallone-led Judge Dredd of '95. So the music is outstanding, the Slow-Mo scenes are innovative and spectacularly produced and the specialised ammunition are astounding to watch. These are the three best parts of the film, in descending order, which to be fair, means that the gimmicks of Dredd are its most impressive feature. It's story is not broad (More of a "day in the life" than "save the human race" deal) and its characters are not greatly explored (though certainly not shallow), and it's mostly held together by these aforementioned "gimmicks", but more power to them! Better to have a solid baseline interconnected with deeply original fascination, than to have a boring rehashed piece of crap baseline, loosely stapled together with some poor excuse for dumping the same cliche $100,000 CGI explosions we've already seen four hundred times this quarter. Surprisingly, New Zealender Karl Urban (Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness, LotR trilogy) makes for a better Dredd than I'd anticipated. Having a psychic was something I was initially sceptical of, too, however Olivia Thrilby (Juno, The Darkest Hour) put my concerns to rest after a long enough period to buy her role (about 25 minutes). And Lena Headey (Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Purge, Game of Thrones) I've liked since she played Queen Gorgo from 300 nearly a decade ago, so she"s always a safe bet in my books, particularly in the role of relentless druglord Ma-Ma, she really is at home playing ruthless women of power, isn't she? That all said, Dredd is not the best film I've ever seen. It's not even the best action-focused science-fiction film released in 2012 I've ever seen. But it takes risks, and that's nothing to be scoffed at. We need more Dredd's in our film industries, something to break up the monotony of most of Hollywood. Something that doesn't need to go big, or tick x amount of acceptability boxes, it's satisfied just being good. 77% -Gimly

Incendiary! Dredd is directed by Pete Travis and written by Alex Garland. It stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey and Wood Harris. Music is by Paul Leonard-Morgan and cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle. Review for 2D Version Only. Sylvester Stallone' 1995 attempt at bringing Judge Dredd to the big screen was met with a critical mauling, both professionally and by serious fans of the 2000AD comic books from whence the character came. On its own terms it's a fun popcorn piece, but one that totally missed the fascist grime of the source. Here however, under the guidance of Travis and Garland, Dredd gets the picture the fans and the character deserves. Plot is simple, we are in a dystopian future in a place known as Mega-City One. The only law and order are the Judges who are able to act as judge, jury and executioner. One such feared judge is Judge Dredd (Urban) and when he and his partner in training, Anderson (Thirlby), answer a call to a triple homicide at the multi storey slum tenement known as Peach Trees, they are locked in by crime boss Ma-Ma (Headey) and forced to defend themselves against practically everyone who resides there. This is stripped down to the essence of what makes Judge Dredd such a beloved character in comic book lore. There's no need for backstories, love interests or comedy side-kicks, this is bad ass characters from either side of the law going at it full throttle. The action is unrelenting and explosive in its construction, bloody and brutal into the bargain as well. Dredd the character is rightly kept to a basic level, he's a hard dude in a suit and helmet, with an arsenal of weapons upon his person and he delivers short sharp shock pieces of dialogue with gruff assertiveness. Anderson is a mutant of sorts, she can read minds, which superbly adds spice to this fight for survival narrative. Ma-Ma is a damaged villain, disgustingly menacing without histrionics, it's her calmness that's so terrifying. At the core of the criminal activities fronted by Ma-Ma is a new drug called Slo-Mo, a drug that reduces the brain's perception to 1% of speed. This allows the makers to bring some dazzling effects into play whilst setting up some blood letting scenarios. The production design is top draw, where Mega-City One has a perfect totalitarianism sheen to it, which in turn is boosted by Dod Mantle's excellent colour lenses. With Urban perfectly cast and his two lady co-stars also firing, Dredd is a thrilling action sci-fi movie. It doesn't push new boundaries and raise the bar per se, but it keeps the fires well and truly burning in the genre whilst appeasing the fans wholesale. 8/10

I used to read the comics when I was young, and they were simple, straightforward shoot 'em ups with "Dredd" the epitome of tough, no-nonsense law enforcement in a futuristic environment where crime, violence, poverty and unemployment were pretty normal for many people. This time, Karl Urban takes the title role as the policeman/judge/jury type, and he and his rookie "Anderson" (Olivia Thirlby) investigate a few dead bodies in the lobby of an hundred-odd storey building controlled by the drug dealing matriarch "Ma-Ma" (Lena Headey) and her menacing henchmen. To begin with, they must find the killer and get out alive - but when some of his own kind arrive and turn against him - and his partner is captured - he sets out to settle this once and for all. Yep, the dialogue is shocking; the acting only little better (Headey is about as menacing as yesterday's creme brûlée) but that's not the point. It's meant to be a brutal action adventure - loads of pyrotechnics, attitude, gun-battles (with some great weapons, btw) that is just aimless fun. That's what is says on the tin, and that's what is does. Never any doubt about the ending, but the route is what it's all about - and for me, anyway, it's just 90 minutes of mindless escapism with a bit of mind-reading thrown in for good measure. Not everything can be Jane Austen - aim low and you ought not to be too disappointed.