driver on 19/9/2012 at 12:00
Saw it last night and rather enjoyed it, though I think the 3D was a touch naff. Rather than giving a depth of field it just looked like the action was taking place on 2-3 separate layers, much like those cardboard cutouts you see in cinema lobbies. That said, I didn't feel like it was being overused or exploited in a gimmicky way. Well, not too much anyway. The splashy scene with Mama in the bath was a tad gratuitous, but, for me at least, it just high-lighted why 3D isn't all that great. Her arm just seemed to be a separate object from the rest of her body, and due to the slo-mo effects I found it impossible to unsee.
Also, SE wasn't kidding about it not being deep or complex. Dredd managed to make Die Hard look like A Brief History of Time.
Still, good popcorn fun. Disengage brain and enjoy your violence.
Thirith on 19/9/2012 at 12:03
Quote Posted by driver
Also, SE wasn't kidding about it not being deep or complex. Dredd managed to make Die Hard look like A Brief History of Time.
I so want Stephen Hawking going, "I have a machine gun now. Ho ho ho." as a ringtone now.
heywood on 19/9/2012 at 12:22
I'm privately raging on all you fuckers :mad::mad::mad: for creating the market for endless cheesy comic book and sci-fi remakes.
Haven't you had enough already, or are you going to keep shelling out for this shit until every last comic has been trashed in film?
Seriously, this has gotten worse than horror flicks in the 80s.
It's overdue for parody.
Thirith on 19/9/2012 at 12:33
Quote Posted by heywood
I'm privately raging on all you fuckers :mad::mad::mad: for creating the market for endless cheesy comic book and sci-fi remakes.
Haven't you had enough already, or are you going to keep shelling out for this shit until every last comic has been trashed in film?
Everything I've heard about this suggests that a) it's lightyears better than the Stallone version and b) it's actually a good film in its genre. Where's the problem with that? Calling it a remake in order to rail against it is really disingenuous (or silly) if we're talking about an adaptation of an original where an earlier adaptation failed to capture the spirit of the original.
Vivian on 19/9/2012 at 12:54
The previous attempt to make a film of Dredd it couldn't have fucked it up much harder, to be honest - five storylines jammed together, the ABC warriors (different comic) appearing for some reason, Dredd kisses another fucking Judge (about as out of character as you can get really, plus an instant ticket to Titan if you follow canon rules. This would be roughly equivalent to batman shotgunning the penguin in the head and then smoking a cigar), Rob Schneider, helmet removal etc. This is not some bullshit marvel cash-in (although it likely only got greenlit because of them), this is an attempt made by a bunch of british film-makers and early middle-aged 2000AD fans to make a film that actually gets Dredd right. You can keep your triple-angry, I want to see this.
heywood on 19/9/2012 at 13:02
It's like getting excited over Quake XXIV Arena.
It could be the best quality comic book film ever made, but who cares? This genre has been done to death 20x over in just a decade or so.
Let's use our theater money to encourage new ideas instead of repackaged old ones.
Thirith on 19/9/2012 at 13:07
Quote Posted by heywood
It could be the best quality comic book film ever made, but who cares? This genre has been done to death now 20x over.
It's like getting excited over Quake XXIV Arena.
Has it been done well, though? Not particularly often, IIRC.
Who cares? Obviously the people who have seen and enjoyed it.
To be honest, I fail to see why you're pissed off with respect to a film that, based on what critics and audiences say, gets it right. Is it original? Not particularly. Is it well crafted and enjoyable? Yes. What's the problem with that?
heywood on 19/9/2012 at 13:21
The problem is that there's fuckloads of people out there with original ideas trying to get them produced in film, and they're not getting a chance because people are content to eat the same stuff over and over again.
Vivian on 19/9/2012 at 13:31
If you start boycotting anything that's a film adaptation from another medium you are going to run out of films quite fast. And this isn't really the remake/rehash/tie-in/reboot/whatever you are making it out to be.
PS Comic Book film is not a fucking genre any more than Book Film is, fucks sake. It's often a cause for extremely lazy film making, but that's not comic books fault. Blade Runner was based largely on a comic book. A History of Violence is a comic book adaptation. So is Ghost World.
heywood on 19/9/2012 at 13:45
Comics may not be a genre, but comics based on supercop/superhero/vigilante characters in a dystopian future definitely ARE a genre and the vast majority of recent comic book films fit that category, including Dredd.
