Dredd forgoes the colourful big budget art direction of the 1995 Judge Dredd film. Instead it is a film set mainly in the interior of one of the Mega Cities, a cesspit where law and order is attempted to be maintained by the all powerful Judges who act like judge, jury and executioner.

Karl Urban is the best known and the most feared Judge Dredd, the always helmeted lawman assigned to evaluate a rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) who has psychic abilities.

They go out to apprehend evil drug empress Ma-Ma (Lena Headley) who skinned three men and threw them off an high rise while induced with a slo-mo drugged which means they experience the fall in a slowed down reality. However when Dredd and Anderson go to the 200 storey complex, it is locked down and they are trapped inside as various bad guys go after them.

After that you realise he film is an inferior version of The Raid without the nifty martial arts despite some good visual effects which is delivered in a modest budget. The film is ultra violent and bloody, there are grotesque sequences of corpses falling slowly to the ground but the film has a thin plot, is slightly repetitive and lacking the grim, dark humour of the comics.

DREDD is the second adaptation of the cult comic book series Judge Dredd, following on from a poorly-received Stallone flick in the '90s (for the record, I thought that version was passable but weak in places, as is the case with a lot of mid-'90s cinema). This one's a lot more gutsy and compelling, thanks to the lean script and emphasis throughout on bloody action and adult entertainment. No pandering to the teenage crowd here.

Karl Urban, long since a favourite of mine (since his excellent turn as the Russian assassin in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) headlines as Dredd, never taking his helmet off throughout the film. Thus he's reduced to acting via his chin and gravely voice, and the surprise is that it works, to a degree. The helmet serves to distance the viewer from warming to the character, but then that's the point. I did like him though, and enjoyed his totalitarian attitude towards keeping crime off the streets.

Many reviewers have commented on the movie's similarity in plot to the Indonesian action epic THE RAID, and it's clear the two films share plenty. However, I think there's space for both of them in the market; DREDD is an unashamed shoot-em-up while THE RAID is an unashamed martial arts movie. They cater to different markets, and both are equally good.

DREDD's grim, claustrophobic setting is a strong one (bringing to mind the likes of '80s nihilist cinema like TENEMENT and DEATH WISH 3) and the action never lets up from start to finish. The scene with the huge guns is the stand-out, of course, but there's plenty of good minor stuff along the way, where encounters between Dredd and various bad guys are well directed and choreographed. Lena Headey's villain is utterly imposing and my only disappointment was with the ultra-slow-motion sequences, which are a bit pretentious and overused; thankfully they virtually disappear once the novelty wears off. I watched the 3D version of this movie, and while it's not the most visually impressive 3D film I've seen, it does make the film feel more immersive as a whole.

In the future, the overpopulated and chaotic Mega City One with 800 million inhabitants occupies the former territory between Boston and Washington and is surrounded by desert. Justice is brought by the judges, who have the power to judge and execute the sentence against those who break the law.

The incorruptible Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is summoned by the Chief Judge (Rakie Ayola) to evaluate the rookie Anderson (Olivia Thirlby),who has failed the test for judge but is a mutant with psychic abilities. They witness a murder and chase the killer in a 200-floor building. However the laboratory of slo-mo of the drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) is located in the 200th floor and she seals the building, trapping the two judges inside. Then she orders her clan to kill Dredd and Anderson in the beginning of a gore manhunt.

"Dredd" is an above average and full of action sci-fi movie. The story is very simple, but supported by a great cast and excellent action scenes. The result is a great movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Dredd, O Juiz do Apocalipse" ("Dredd, The Judge from the Apocalypse")