10 Overlooked Positives of Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd
7. The Action
From its opening Block War through to the brutal Angel Gang battle and punchy finale, Judge Dredd is at least consistent in its approach to action. Sure, it isn't as loud or bloody as Dredd's assault upon Ma-Ma and her men in the reboot, but this is a solid 90s-era action film in every respect; were this any other Italian Stallion property, it'd surely be as well-loved as the likes of Demolition Man (often hailed as the film this should have been) or Cliffhanger. It's far from perfect - the flying Lawmaster bikes are ridiculous, and the less said about Schneider peeing himself or snivelling all over the Angels, the better - but it is exciting, explosive and well-done. The opening fight between Dredd, Hershey (plus doomed rookie) and a gang of armed thugs (a scenery-chewing James Remar among them) is everything one could hope for from a Judge Dredd movie, culminating with the lawman arresting Rob Schneider over a technicality. If only they'd left it there, eh?
A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.
