Given the relative disaster that was the Sylvester Stallone-led Judge Dredd flick from 1995 ("I am the law!"), fans of the popular comic book series were right to be nervous when a rebooted version was confirmed to be in the works. They needn't have worried; Dredd (Or "Dredd 3D" as it was marketed) emerged as one of the most relentlessly entertaining comic book movies of recent times - freed from major expectations, fans were able to sit back and enjoy 90 minutes of unsolicited carnage. Penned by Alex Garland, author of novel The Beach and the screenwriter of works such as 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Never Let Me Go, and starring Karl Urban (who played Eomer in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings), Dredd is about as unpretentious as comic book movies come - and all the better for it. The plot is simple: Dredd, a law enforcer imbued with the power to sentence criminals on the spot, finds himself trapped in a tower block with his rookie partner and must fight his way out. Excessively violent and perfectly paced, the movie also happens to be downright stunning to look at.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
