And the reactions are mostly positive! Check out some of the reactions, coming from numerous sites such as /Film (Peter Sciretta), Collider (Steven Weintraub), AMC Theatres (John Campea), and many others right below...
Additionally, here's the longer version of
Empire's reaction toward the movie.
We're delighted to say that it's a solid, often excellent adaptation, and not at all Dreddful. (Sorry, had to do it.) Karl Urban is excellent as the grizzled gunslinger (and yes, the helmet stays on throughout, which will please fans of the comic no end), growling his lines like a man who's just gritted his driveway using only his teeth, and the ultra-violence (which, in a way, may please fans while damaging its commercial chances) is presented stylishly. It has problems - it's bound to suffer comparisons to The Raid, with which it shares a basic plot, but has little of the invention or pulsating pace of that movie's fight scenes. It has a significantly smaller budget than the rest of this year's comic book movie crop, and at times it shows. But it's worth seeing for Urban alone, who erases any memories of the awful Sly Stallone vehicle from 1995.
UPDATE: Yet another lengthy reaction has made its way online, this time coming from
Total Film. Check it out right below...
Despite rumours of rifts during production, Garland and Travis have created a horribly gorgeous vision of dystopian future where monolithic housing towers are run by criminal gangs - and policing is undertaken by judge/jury/execution officers, Judges. Urban certainly has the downturned mouth and super-cool, gravelly delivery to pull off Dredd's nonchalance but he's aided by Garland's smart, fast script, a relentless flow of Rorschach Test blood sprays from bone-shattering brutality, eye-poppingly beautiful 3D visuals and peppy banter with Thirlby. The body count is high, the humour grim and the violence stylishly graphic and reminiscent of Sin City (scenes involving a drug called Slo-Mo are visually intoxicating).
Several sites have also promised that they will debut their full reviews of the movie later on, so stay tuned on CBM for more
Dredd reports. Anyway, what do you think of these? As usual, sound off with your thoughts on the space provided below.
The story of Dredd takes place on an Earth ravaged by the Atomic Wars. Survivors of this world live within "Mega-Cities", gargantuan urban sprawls which protect its citizens from the Cursed Earth, a radioactive desert environment populated by mutants. The main story takes place in Mega-City One, where its police force, known as judges have the power of judge, jury and executioner to thwart crime. One man, Judge Dredd, a senior Judge, teams up with rookie Judge Anderson to stop drug dealer Ma-Ma and her traffic of the reality-altering drug Slo-Mo. Directed by Pete Travis and starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey, the movie is set to be released on September 21, 2012.