by Comic books aren’t as strictly American as the dominance of DC and Marvel comics characters and related products may lead us to believe. Next to Japan, several countries have their own comic books that greatly differ from their American counterparts. British comic books, despite the fact that many British writers and artists had and are having successful careers in America, like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison or Alan Grant just to name a few, have a unique language, style and tone featuring original characters that aren’t anything like American superheroes. Probably the biggest of them all is Judge Dredd. But what happens when a British icon is transformed into an American pop culture/blockbuster/big money production starring Rocky/John Rambo/John Spartan as Judge Joseph Dredd?
It is never easy to adapt an icon as deeply rooted in British pop culture as Judge Dredd and transform the material into something that appeals to an American audience. Therefore, it’s almost inevitable that fans of the comic books will dislike or even taken offense in the American interpretation. Judge Dredd and the Future Shocks had been around for decades when this film was made. And this invariably led to criticism, as Sylvester Stallone makes for a Dredd that is more Stallone rather than an adaptation of the character readers imagined and grew up with. But then Stallone isn’t bad at all, just different. This fact needs to be taken into consideration from the get go: JUDGE DREDD is different. To always compare and overanalyze certainly spoils the fun. Of which there’s no abundance, to be frank, yet still a lot to be had when looking at this film im its context of 90s blockbuster action films that, conservatively but still remarkably, evolved out of the 80s formula.
The overall tone of JUDGE DREDD is no surprise when you realize who made this film. Director Danny Cannon was something of a blank page but the writers were veterans. William Wisher Jr. famously wrote what could be seen as the late pinnacle of 80s action movies: TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991). No further words are required to describe how good that film was. The other power hitter on the team was Steven E. de Souza, writer of Schwarzenegger classics COMMANDO (1985) and THE RUNNING MAN (1967, a Stephen King adaptation), but also DIE HARD 1 + 2 (1988 and 1990). A lot can and should be expected based on these credentials alone. But the truth is, regardless of how “shallow” the material might seem to the inexperienced at first glance, Judge Dredd and his world are a lot more complex than expected, defying simple conclusions or genre definitions.
Breaking Judge Dredd down in order to apply it to an almost self evident formula is next to impossible. To assume that Judge Dredd was science fiction, even in the broader sense of the word, would clearly fail to describe it. When the character was introduced in 1977, the concept was ahead of its time. Dystopian science fiction first entered the main stream in 1974 with John Carpenter’s DARK STAR. But Judge Dredd also added elements of cyberpunk predating the famous 1982 film BLADE RUNNER by Ridley Scott (if not its source material, the novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick, which is a case of its own) and the work that actually established cyberpunk and inspired THE MATRIX TRILOGY (1999-2003): William Gibson’s novel NEUROMANCER (1984). Mega-City One definitely looks like a cyberpunk/dystopian setting but the reality is that technology and the dependence of and fascination with it aren’t vital to the story. And they’re not vital to the characters. Dredd might as well have been a cowboy or cop the way Clint Eastwood famously epitomized. The Judge Dredd stories, as strange as it may sound at first glance, are character-driven instead of style over substance showcases. It is this approach and identity crisis that make him so appealing. Luckily, that part was adapted into the script of JUDGE DREDD.
I AM… THE LAW! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! THESE BLOCKS… ARE UNDER… ARREST! THIS IS YOUR FINAL… WARNING!
Judge Dredd
Judges are prowling the streets of Mega-City One in the year of 2139, not only entitled to serve and protect but also to be judge, jury and executioner in personal union. The ace judge is Joseph Dredd. His name alone puts fear into any street thug. And we’re shown what he’s capable of in a typical action scene of the period, when Dredd (Sylvester Stallone)and Judge Hershey (Diane Lane) clear a block without much regard for collateral damage. Caught somewhere in the crossfire is Fergie, a hacker just released from prison and primarily Dredd’s sidekick for the remainder of the film to provide him with somebody to talk to. A lot of criticism has been aimed at Rob Schneider’s character but while he doesn’t add a whole lot to the story, what he contributes is enough fun, if not great fun. The same goes for the whole atmosphere, with sets that are appropriate but could’ve made better use of their potential. The costumes draw heavily from their comic book predecessors, as do the judges’ motorcycles that look good at first glance but prove to be flimsy plastic props when they’re moving and every inch of them is shaky. That’s so pop-culture it puts a smile on your face.
It turns out Dredd’s not a human being like anyone else. In fact, he’s the product of Janus Project, an endeavor of DNA manipulation aiming at creating a superior judge. Childhood memories are artificially induced, a reference of BLADE RUNNER, where the meaning of memories and humanity are put to question as well. But Dredd’s identity crisis isn’t as severe. It brings up moral concerns, yet its primary purpose is to provide the larger-than-life Dredd with both conflict and a worthy adversary. Who could be more fitting than his brother, Rico Dredd (Armand Assante), who hails from the same attempt at genetically engineering the perfect judge? The flipside is that Rico was locked away after violating the law. Same DNA, different character and morale. It is another component added to the formula making matters more complex without disguising the fact this is a character-driven action film. The action is good and entertaining. But the dialogue is splendid, featuring quotes that entered pop culture (I knew you’d say that!), especially uttered by Dredd in his laconic style delivered perfectly by Stallone.
JUDGE DREDD: And you haven’t even been out of jail for 24 hours. He’s habitual, Hershey. An automatic five year sentence. How do you plead?
HERMAN FERGUSON: Not guilty?
JUDGE DREDD: I knew you’d say that.
FERGUSON: Five years?! No! No! I had no choice! They were killing each other in there.
JUDGE DREDD: You could have gone out the window.
FERGUSON: Forty floors? It would have been suicide!
JUDGE DREDD: Maybe, but it’s legal. Judges!
The supporting cast consists of Max von Sydow as Judge Fargo, Dredd’s mentor and savor at his own expense when Dredd’s framed for murder, and Judge Griffin (Jürgen Prochnow) who’s, as the name suggests, not one to be trusted. It is almost ironical how JUDGE DREDD is at its best after the setting is shifted to a desolated, dystopian desert when the transporter taking Dredd and Fergie to prison crashes. It’s a funny little stab at a society driven by capitalism and greed but unable to learn from mistakes that the prison is actually located in Aspen. Judge Fargo is sentenced to a “long walk to wasteland” allegorically turning him into a martyr on exodus. The transporter is shot down by the Angel Gang, a bunch of cannibals with a half-witted cyborg called Mean Machine Angel doing the rough work for them. When it’s not cyberpunk but just dystopian, depicting Dredd as a capable man, not only a relentless judge depending on technology and the law, the film shows its true potential – only to fall a bit short.
There’s just a tad too much coincidence in the plot, a twist here and there but not enough to compensate that this is a good attempt at doing it all in one film that fails to thoroughly deliver. Fans of the Future Shocks may take offense in the fact Dredd is shown without his helmet. The truth is, Stallone adds to Dredd as a person especially where he’s without his title, gear and gun. He’s fighting Griffin’s attempt to reactivate Janus and seize power in Mega-City One, his brother Rico pretending to help Griffin’s cause but ultimately wanting power for himself, and he’s fighting the manifest belief that technology is God. So Dredd is fighting himself, since he’s the product of advanced technology. Much more effectively than ever before. To make a film about a character instead of simply an action film with bodies piling up and busloads of shells flying through the air was bold. In the end, it’s nuances that prevented JUDGE DREDD from becoming a very good adaptation. But to dismiss it outright would be wrong. It’s essential to view it as “American Dredd,” not a “British Future Shock Dredd.” That makes it a fun film with more depth than anticipated. Yes, it’s not exceptionally witty to put the headquarters of the Janus Project in the Statue of Liberty. But it gives us a lot to discuss and talk about.
JUDGE DREDD isn’t a faithful adaptation of the source material. It is toying with many different ideas and genres, not clocking in anywhere near a definition. But it’s a fun and enjoyable film in many ways, carrying on the tradition of 80s action blockbusters. Stallone is the undisputed star of the show, not giving the rest of the cast much room to breathe in. Despite criticism aimed at him, he did a hell of a job carrying this character-driven film and imagining a Judge Dredd that differs from the British comics. Definitely in an Americanized manner, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Die-hard Judge Dredd comic book fans may frown at the final verdict – but JUDGE DREDD is an addition, not a competitor, to that dystopian/cyberpunk/science fiction world that’s much better than is commonly acknowledged.
