Comments (1) Showcase, The Rewind Like

JUDGE DREDD

“In the future, one man is the law.”

THE YEAR: 1995

THE DIRECTOR: Danny Cannon

THE WRITER: Steven E. de Souza, William Wisher

THE CAST: Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Max Von Sydow

THE INTRO:

When discussing great misfires in the realm of comic book-to-film adaptations, it won’t be long until the topic of the infamous crash and burn of the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd movie gets mentioned. Without question a slap-in-the-face to anyone who watched it, but especially to fans of the original books who left theatres angry and disillusioned.

So let’s hit the rewind button and see what happened…

THE TRAILER:



THE BREAKDOWN:

From the pages of the UK’s classic comic magazine 2000AD, Judge Dredd made its first foray onto the big screen in 1995 with action mega-star Sylvester Stallone in the title role. On paper, it was a winner. Stallone seemed a solid choice for the role. The film was given a sizable budget, enough to accurately portray the epic Mega City One. Unlike the increasingly silly Batman franchise (Batman Forever premiering the same year), Judge Dredd was a violent and gritty sci-fi parable about the decay of society.

But rather than strike away from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, the Hollywood filmmakers instead chose to emulate them, tossing aside the tone and themes of the original strip and making Judge Dredd a colorful, cheesy, over-the-top mess. That said, most film goers weren’t aware of the British books that inspired the movie, so they were equally unaware of how way off the mark it was. But even with the disregard of the story’s roots, the film itself is riddled with problems.

There is the simple things, like how ridiculous and cheap the costumes look, especially in the case of the judges. Large gold shoulder pads draped over spandex, effectively making the judges look like less intimidating members of Mad Max’s Road Warriors. This only made worse by plastic-looking helmets with flimsier visors. None of this looks either protective or fearsome. Sly constantly standing in the Wonder Woman hands-on-hips pose as often as possible while wearing it doesn’t help matters any either.

The story itself, I would concede, isn’t horrible. It’s competent at least. Nothing very original, though. It definitely doesn’t take advantage of the many opportunities a setting like Mega City One offers. But at the end of the day it gets the job done. Even if it does so while wedging in awkward romantic sub-plots.

Where the film truly crumbles is under the weight of its numerous hammed-up performances. There seems to be an ongoing contest between Stallone, Armand Assante, Jurgen Prochnow and several other supporting cast members as to who can chew the most scenery in the film. For the record, Assante is the clear winner. Everything is played to the hilt and then some. Unlike 1988’s Robocop, which had many similar themes in its satire, Judge Dredd never seems to know when it should be adding any weight to the proceedings. Rob Schneider Jar-Jaring his way through the film as the inexplicable comic relief is just baffling in itself.

I was quick to place full blame with director Danny Cannon, and certainly some of it does fall on his shoulders, but a bit of research showed that Cannon was very vocal about the pressures not only from the studio but more so from Stallone himself. From reading interviews with both Cannon and Stallone, its became clear that Stallone had no real concept of what Judge Dredd was and many of the character’s nuances. Quite notably for fans, the fact that Dredd never removes his helmet. Ever. Stallone wore it for maybe five minutes of the film’s run time and scoffed at the book’s creators for not doing the same. Despite the script constantly stating that Dredd is devoid of emotion, Stallone yells, screams and loudly emotes all over the place. It’s disappointing because Stallone is better than that.

All of this was not lost on both critics and film goers who panned the film. Judge Dredd bombed in a big way (though eventually made its money back internationally) and has cemented itself as a legend in the realm of bad movies.

THE IMPACT:

Even seventeen years later, the ill-will and notoriety of the 1995 film made many film-goers hesitant to give the significantly superior and more faithful Dredd a chance in 2012. The original comic still not being a big name in the public eye, didn’t help either. Despite a great critical and fan reception, the newer film’s mediocre opening weekend ensured that it would not be seeing its well-deserved sequel.

THE WHAT-IF?:

Judge Dredd was originally in production with Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to play Dredd. When you look at Arnie’s performance as the iconic mechanical killing machine in The Terminator and then you look at how overly cartoonish Stallone’s take on the Dredd character was, it almost makes you wonder if Schwarzenegger may have actually been the better choice for the role. Probably not perfect still, but likely a little bit closer to source material than we saw here.

As a funny aside, this film features a hulking robot bodyguard that bears a striking resemblance to a certain body-building Austrian.

THE RECOMMENDATION:

1995’s Judge Dredd is most definitely one you can pass on without regret. It’s a miss on every level. But do not miss 2012’s Dredd, which is near-perfect as a sci-fi actioner and takes a lot more care with its source material.

THE BIG QUESTION:

In 1995, what actor do you think would have made the best Judge Dredd?

Let us know in the comments below!

THE EXTRA:



NEXT WEEK: ENEMY MINE!

Liked it? For more articles from JB Pauls, take a second to support Living Myth Media on Patreon!