Media Stream: Dredd: not as bad as it sounds
BINGEWATCHER: BREAKING BAD
The last 8 episodes of Breaking Bad just hit Netflix at the end of February, and Oh. My. Shit. No spoilers here (if you’re one of the ten people in the country who managed to resist every urge to Google the ending early) — just thank goodness we can finally let go of one of the most suspenseful, unsentimental and adrenaline-packed series in American television with some genuine closure. Caution: Once you get started with the first episode in the final installment, good luck getting some fucking sleep.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78% fresh
My rating: 4 stars out of 5
There’s nothing in the world quite like a pure action movie. Does the plot necessarily make sense? No, but does it really have to? The point of an action movie is that there are established bad guys and established good guys and lots of gore, sex and drugs happen until the good guys win. To that extent, Dredd accomplishes every goal.
The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic America. Overpopulation has forced people to live in 200-story buildings with adorable names like “Peach Tree.” There’s a police force, but they’re the entire justice system all rolled into one person called a “judge” who dispenses arrest, trial and sentence all upon catching the criminal. If it seems like an easily-corruptible system, that’s because it is.
The main character is Judge Dredd, a famed and talented dispenser of justice. He is a big fan of terrible one-liners, fancy ammunition, a rigid set of morals and a really ugly helmet. He is also training a young female recruit who happens to be a clairvoyant mutant. If they have sexual tension at all, it’s lost on the helmet.
The bad guy of the movie is played by Lena Heady (who also plays Cersei Lannister in the Game of Thrones series and is quickly becoming the top contender to play every sexy evil badass woman ever). She plays the character of “Ma-Ma,” an ex-prostitute who went insane after her pimp cut her face, and quickly became the sinister leader of a gang and unofficial ruler of the Peach Tree living compound. Things start getting pretty hairy for our heroes when Ma-Ma orders both of the judges killed via intercom to the entire building.
Of sex, drugs and gore, there is plenty. Ma-Ma’s clan is the producer of this adorable futuristic drug that comes in heart-printed inhalers, looks like it’s filled with Jagermeister and is called Slo-Mo. The cinematography surrounding the use of Slo-Mo is pretty awesome — time slows down and there are colorful hallucinations and it really enhances the scenes of gore that follow. The sex is less cool and mostly (maybe totally) takes place in the clairvoyant trainee’s mind when she interrogates some bad guys. This part may need a trigger warning for those who have experienced sexual abuse.
Dredd is filled with twists and turns and will certainly keep you entertained for 90 minutes. If you choose to only watch 5 minutes, I suggest the climax because it’s one of the most drug fueled, beautiful and marvelous death scenes I’ve ever seen. Now I’m off to get my hands on some Slo-Mo. ′
