2. Because Olivia Thirlby's The Perfect Judge Anderson...
Judge Anderson is one of the strongest female characters in comics, a form not exactly known for its progressive depictions of women. She is a complex, three-dimensional character where Dredd is a stoic upholder of peace, critical of the judging system where Dredd is unquestioning, humorous where he...well, isn't. And, by-the-by, Olivia Thirlby is perfect in the role. The first Dredd sees Anderson go from rookie to fully-qualified Judge, and her transformation is totally believable. She's a great character, who goes through genuine changes over the film's running time, and in the process is not just a foil to Dredd or an audience identification character - asking all the questions we're asking - but also an interesting person to watch onscreen. That's a good part down to Thirlby, who's great both as the slightly nervous but by-the-book newbie at the start, the confident psychic (oh yeah, she's a bit psychic, so maybe Dredd isn't that grounded...) who uses her powers in interrogation, and a dab hand with a Lawgiver when it comes to it. So, duh, it'd be great to see more of Anderson, and Thirlby as Anderson. The character only gets more interesting as she develops in the comics - in fact her arc is very much involved with the Dark Judges - and given that she's only just qualified as a Judge herself after the first film, we need to see what she does next!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
