(Flash Review)The execution of this movie felt more appropriate mid-80's than mid- 90's. I expected more from it. First off, those costumes. Really?! Judge Dredd's costume looked very flimsy and weak; like an obvious prop. That led me to pick apart other parts of the movie. Such as the futuristic vehicles and their tacked on accoutrements. Never looking as if they were from their own world but yanked from reality. The comedic one-liners were so bad. All blatantly related to being a judge or the legal system. Something the writers quickly came up with one night after a few cocktails. I grimaced more than chuckled and each one followed a dialog pause so each one was telegraphed. Onto the plot and I'll admit I have no idea this was a comic book until the movie started. The Earth has become a desert and people live within crime-ridden, walled cities with a police force called The Judges. They are allowed to stop criminals as well as judge their crime and punishment at the scene. Of course there is a battle for power and shenanigans are pulled that effect Judge Dredd's reputation. Will he overcome and will the truth be uncovered? Overall, the was a lot of popcorn action and bad dialog but it was brainless amusement nonetheless. The best part about watching it was getting to clear a movie out of my streaming queue that I had light interest in seeing after 20+ years since its release.

First I'd like to stress that I haven't yet read any of the original Comics, so things like Dredd taking off his mask didn't bother me as much as it would someone knowing the character.That said, the Positives: Although not particularly good the movie is still a Hollywood action film and it shows. The action is relatively good, the effects quite impressive for 1995 (expect for that flying bike chase scene), the cinematography is fine and the score while nothing spectacular well executed. Max Von Sydow being a great actor does well in his small part and Dredd's companion (I don't remember her name) is adequate. Armand Assante while not being able to be taken seriously really seems to have fun, as he cheerfully chews the scenery spouting off nonsense. One particularly great scene is when he has a shouting competition with Stallone on how to pronounce law, or as he put it: "LAW!!!"The Negatives: They decided for some reason to have a very serious plot. Instead of showing Dredd doing his Job and then an unusual problem arises and he has to take care of it alone or with a companion (like in the remake) they chose to have an "epic" confrontation between him and an Rico, where the values of their society are at stake. While it wasn't a horrible plot per say it was kind of baffling how they chose such a big and ambitious conflict for a relatively simply character. Speaking of characters let's talk about Stallone. He is quite bad. Unfortunately. You would expect he would be ideal for the character of Dredd and while he manages to do some scenes fine as well as pull off the whole "always serious" shtick he is just interesting and in some cases, over the top. For instance in the courtroom scene every time there's a close up he extenuates his chin. It's ridiculous, it's like he knows he has a good chin and wants everyone to witness it or he's doing it as joke. Speaking of jokes the comic relief is Rob Schneider. He's talent-less, unfunny, annoying and a pain in the ass both for the audience and the characters them-self. Why was he even in this? Also that ABC robot or whatever they're call looks ridiculous thank's to it's chin. You can't really be threatening with a design like that. The suit the judges wear while looks the part is too over the top and glossy for it to be realistically used in the battlefield. I would have also preferred a bit more blood. It was the 90s, you could still make money with R rated films although that's really the filmmakers fault.In the End if you are a big Stallone fun and don't mind cheesy lines and bad comic relief give it a shot. If not you can still watch it as a bad example of a comic based film.

When Judge Dredd's past catches up with him and a former Judge reappears he's framed for a crime he didn't commit and Mega City is thrown into chaos.The first film adaptation based on the popular British comic book character Judge Dredd, director Danny Cannon (The Young Americans) delivers a visual treat complemented by Adrian Biddle's cinematography. While some of the special effects, back projections etc. have aged, many elements, especially the sets, practical effects and makeup still hold up nicely. The costumes designed by Gianni Versace are a mixed bag and Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd is wise to discard the clunker unpractical 2000 A.D. costume pieces at every opportunity. At times it feels choppy, especially in the last act. What's seems evident as you watch Cannon's offering is that it's uneven, this apparently is due to studio interference, creative disputes and script changes. The other thing which takes the edge off the mix of Blade Runner and Bravestarr inspired aesthetics, aside from it feeling lighter than it's comic source material is it's similarities to Stallone's Demolition Man (1993) which came out two years earlier. They're both police films set in the future; feature comic relief Rob Schneider, the main character is framed, there's corrupt officials - the list goes on and you can't help feel a slight case of déjà vu.Despite Dredd nontraditional removing his helmet Stallone does a good job as the shamed Judge, John Spartan, er I mean Judge Joseph Dredd, sentenced to life imprisonment. Again Stallone's Dredd works best when he's playing it straight, training cadets, sentencing and offering emotion with his mentor Chief Justice Fargo played by the excellent Max von Sydow. The comedy throughout is humorous – but it just doesn't fit Dredd's tone and would have been better placed in an action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously like Demolition Man. Judge Dredd for some reason tries to be both a violent action and one-liner Schneider buddy movie. The cast are on form and the characters are fleshed out. Notable is Diane Lane as Judge Hershey. Jürgen Prochnow's Judge Griffin the the rest of the cast are effective in their respective roles, right down to a small bit part by Ian Dury.The mystery story is fleshed out and plays out quite well with reactivated projects, faked evidence and doctored photos. There's some stand out scenes which include Dredd fighting psychotic Rico Dredd played wonderfully by Armand Assante as his clone Judges are awakened. With some great makeup there's the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic scavengers. There's Rico escaping from prison and reactivating a giant ABC Warrior robot. And a part where Schneider's Fergee and Dredd must run through a tunnel in 30 seconds or be burnt alive.With Alan Silvestri's score adding weight, Cannon pacts in a lot of story threads which gives it scale. And to his credit Judge Dredd has plenty of visuals and some interesting darker sci-fi elements.While its 2012 attempt fairs better, Judge Dredd remains a scifi action worth checking out.

Ah yes, the 90's version of Judge Dredd, featuring a hopped up Sylvester Stallone as the titular comic book lawman. There is so much hate floating around for this flick that I feel like radios have picked up some of it right out of the air. There used to be a lot more loathing, but then the 2013 version graced our presence, and it was so good, so true to the source material and such a kick ass flick that the collective bad taste left the fan's mouths, leaving this version somewhat forgotten and to many people, for good reason. But.. but... bear with me for just a moment, readers, and I'll tell you why it's not as bad as it's utterly poopy reputation. Yes it's silly, overblown, altogether ridiculous and Stallone takes off his helmet to yell about the law a lot. Basically pretty far from the source material and weird enough to raise eyebrows in many others, and prompt the torch and pitchfork routine from fans of the comic series. But it's also a huge absurdist sci fi spectacle that will blow up your screen with its massive cast, opulent and decadent special effects and thundering, often incomprehensible plot. It's in most ways the exact opposite of the 2013 version, all the fat that was trimmed off of that sleek, streamlined vehicle is left to dangle here, resulting in a chaotic mess that looks like a highway pileup between Blade Runner, Aliens and some Roger Corman abomination. But.. is it terribly unwatchable? Not in the least, or at least not to me. Like the highway pileup, it's so off the rails that we can't help but gawk in awe, and if we're not some comic book fan who is already spiritually offended to the core by it, even enjoy that madness and lack of any rhyme or reason in it. Stallone uses his bulk to inhabit the character, and infuses a level of stagnant processed cheese to his dialogue that would be distracting if it weren't for the electric blue contact lenses he sports the whole time, which look like traffic lights designed by Aqua Man. He's embroiled in one convoluted mess of a plot line involving a former sibling (a hammy Armand Assante with the same weird eyes). Joan Chen and Diane Lane fill out the chick department, the former being some kind of cohort to Assante, and the latter a fellow judge alongside Dredd. Dredd has two superiors, the noble and righteous "" (Max Von Sydow in the closest thing he'll ever make to a B-movie), and the treacherous Griffin (a seething, unbridled Jurgen Prochnow). The cast is stacked from top to bottom, including a rowdy turn from James Remar who sets the tone early on as a rebellious warlord who is set straight by Dredd. Rob Schneider has an odd habit of following Stallone around in films where his presence is wholly not needed (see Demolition Man as well), playing a weaselly little criminal who pops up whenever we're off marveling at some other silly character, plot turn or risible costume choice. Scott Wilson also has an unbilled bit as Pa Angel, a desert dwelling cannibal patriarch, and when one views his scenery chomping cameo, although no doubt awesome, it's easy to see why he had his name removed from the credits. The whole thing is a delightful disaster that shouldn't prompt reactions of hate, at least from the more rational minded crowd. Yeah its not the best, or even all that good, but it's worth a look just for the sake of morbid curiosity, and to see an entire filmmaking, acting and special effects team strive way too hard and throw everything into the mix, forgetting that less is more as they pull the ripcord of excess. Sure I'm generous, but I'd rather be puzzled and amused rather than bitter and cynical when a lot of work still went into this and me as an average joe has no right to bring down artists when my greatest life accomplishments so far are riding a bike with no hands while I have a beer in one and check my phone in the other. Such silliness is what we find in this movie, and I gotta say I was tickled by it.