12 Most Overlooked Science Fiction Films Of The 2010s

This blood-spattered, shoot-’em-up adaptation of the Judge Dredd comic strip boasts a terrific cast, a gritty landscape and graphic action sequences.

In the futuristic United States, most of the population inhabits the metropolis Mega-City One, with the law enforcers Judges acting as judges, jury and executioners.

Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and his new partner Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) are on a mission to investigate Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), a ruthless drug dealer producing a new and dangerous drug and operating out of a savage slum tower block. When the two get trapped in the building, they have to evade Ma-Ma’s thugs while attempting to get to her base of operations.

Urban - himself a fan - is perfectly chosen as the title judge, Thirlby is the heart of the piece and Headey gives a cold-blooded performance that still manages to find vulnerability.

With its popping colors, its cast of mostly barbaric characters and explicit violence, Dredd feels as vicious and over the top as the strip itself. Let us hope that the upcoming Judge Dredd: Mega-City One show also does the story justice.