1. Less is More
Though clocking in at an almost identical runtime (Judge Dredd, at 96 minutes, is a single minute longer), the two films appropriate themselves very differently; Judge Dredd mistakenly shoehorns in what it thinks is character development, a murky and misguided calculation that results in a ludicrous interpretation of the revelation that Dredd and Rico were cloned from a prior Judge. Though this is rooted firmly in the lore of the comic itself, the overly expository, corny manner in which it unfolds is lazy and simply muddles a film that already has far too much going on. A subsequent plan, a bemusing effort to synthesise new Judges in an incubator within 8 hours is meanwhile impossible to take seriously - as seems to be a frequent problem with the film - whereas the reboot largely appears to know its limits. Travis and Garland know the pitfalls of the previous film, and so don't hyper-extend their reach, knowing full well that a similarly barmy approach would cause it to descend into full-on camp very quickly. Though their premise is minimalist, it is one they have a firm grip on, and deliver fully on rather than risking something overly ambitious that might have resulted in another Dredd film flopping on its face. What did you think of Stallone's Judge Dredd? And let us know what you make of Dredd when it's released this Friday.