Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Scott LeBrun Big budget, major studio adaptation of a beloved cult sci-fi comic book takes place in a Dystopian future, where populations are crowded into massive "Mega Cities" and the main form of law enforcement consists of "Judges" - bike riding officers who are empowered to act as judge, jury, *and* executioner, all in one. The most feared and legendary of them all is Judge Joseph Dredd (Sly Stallone), who ends up framed for the murder of a crusading reporter (top character actor Mitchell Ryan). Dredd is able to escape transport to prison, uniting with a goofy low rent criminal named Fergie (Rob Schneider) and heading for an inevitable confrontation with a megalomaniac named Rico (Armand Assante, hamming it up like there's no tomorrow).It's understandable that purists will take some exception to this adaptation and greatly prefer the 2012 feature film version (starring Karl Urban as Dredd). But the 1995 "Judge Dredd" does attempt to give people their money's worth. There's lots of hard-edged action, a non-stop assortment of razzle-dazzle futuristic images (utilizing what was then cutting-edge CGI), an ominous music score by Alan Silvestri, some entertaining characters, and great costumes. The plot is nothing special, but is not hard to follow, as it centers on a conspiracy where a ruling Council tried to play God, and ended up with a mess on their hands.Sly doesn't have to stretch himself here, getting to play a rough and tough and VERY stoic man of action who thinks that having emotions is key to getting a person killed. Adding the humanity is lovely Diane Lane as a fellow Judge who proves to be completely loyal. Schneiders' comedy relief may be a matter of personal taste; although not generally appreciated, this viewer found him to be at least mildly funny and not unlikeable.The excellent supporting cast includes such luminaries as Max von Sydow, Jurgen Prochnow, Joan Chen (who's under-utilized), and Joanna Miles, with ever-wonderful von Sydow coming off the best. Other familiar faces like Ewen Bremner and Angus MacInnes turn up. Making uncredited contributions are James Earl Jones (who reads the opening narration), James Remar (as a block warlord), and 'The Walking Dead's' Scott Wilson as Pa Angel. (And that's one thing that this viewer did appreciate about this film version: the presence of the desert-dwelling, degenerate Angel family.)Overall, colourful entertainment that may indeed play like a video game, but it's certainly never boring.Six out of 10.

dst-thomas It's immediately obvious that a good bit of money and effort went into making this movie. It's hard to put my finger on exactly where it falls short. The dystopian future world and MegaCity are convincing created, considering the movie making tech available at the time. The acting is OK and Diane Lane turns in a very credible performance (up until the ridiculous ending). The direction tries to get the most of the actors and script, but somehow falls a little short. The editing is uneven, and when it's tight it's tight. When it's not tight the pace starts to drag. It's hard to tell sometimes if the drag comes more from the direction and editing, or from the script. The repetitive tag lines, such as "I knew you were going to say that" stop working long before they keep trying to make them work. I wanted to like it, but I was just unable to do so by the time I got to the half-way mark. I soldiered through it for story line and to see if it was going to redeem itself, but ended up kind of wishing I had bailed. The ending was just stupid.I was left with the realization that I liked a different movie from a couple of years earlier quite a bit more. That film was Demolition Man. It was a sci-fi action rom-com, so very different but it was a hit with me on many levels. If you're just looking for a fun movie to watch and Demolition Man is an option, then I would try that one. If your heart and head are set on Judge Dredd, I hope you find what you are looking for in this interpretation of that character and world.

Sam smith (sam_smithreview) Stallone is one hell of a unique actors around. He was type cast as the action hero, because he doesn't have much of acting range. This movie was sold, like all comic book movies of the 1990's a pure action film, with bits of laughter here and there.This film is a fun ride, and I never get tired of it. The special effects and sets are great for the times.You can tell there was a lot of attention to detail when they made this, and making it in the England where Judge Dredd was created was also cool since so many of these big films are made over in Hollywood.If you are looking for an entertaining action film with some comedy then check out Judge Dredd. Many people claim that the New Dredd film with Karl Urban is a better film since it is more closer in tone to the comics. Whilst it isn't a bad film, I found it quite boring and didn't buy Karl Urban as Judge Dredd at all, unlike Stallone who is clearly a tough guy and not just *acting* the part.

AlienatorX First question a lot of you are asking; who or what is Judge Dredd? Well in answer Judge Dredd is a British comic book series. In a dystopian future all of mankind has been wiped out except for one gigantic city. In this city crime is out of control so the people in charge introduce the Judges; Law enforcement officers who can serve as judge, jury and executioner, of these Judges the most feared is Judge Dredd whose unshakable sense of justice make him a force to be reckoned with. Now this is a great concept, especially in the 80s and 90s which were the best age for action movies in my opinion, Sadly this movie had a bit of a rocky production; Director Danny Cannon was in fact a fan of Judge Dredd and wanted to make an adaptation that had the same gritty edge and dark sense of humour as the original comics. As a result the first cut Mr Cannon submitted to the MPAA was NC-17 and had to be tossed back and forth between the two of them to finally get and R rating. On top of that Stallone (who was playing Judge Dredd) and the studio decided they wanted to make the movie into a PG-13 action comedy and the film got hacked up even more. Danny Cannon was so unhappy with the finished result that he hasn't worked with a big name actor since. After all that this movie was a commercial and critical failure, falling quickly into obscurity until certain critics on the internet resurrected it with the reputation as one of the worst comic book movies of all time. And yet…It's not all that bad. This movie could have been awesome; the cast aren't half bad, the production design is great, and the score is cheesy but fun. Unfortunately this movie also has its fair share of bad-in-a-good-way points and just plain bad points. I Love Sylvester Stallone but in this movie his portrayal of Judge Dredd reminds me of Buzz Lightyear done as a live action 80s action movie, which is fun but a misrepresentation of the source material. A lot of the acting in this movie is cheesy, not helped by dialogue that is both clunky and awkward. The scene with the Angel family is weirdly entertaining in this The Hills Have Eyes 2000 kinda way and of course there's Rob Schneider's character. This was a bad idea. Rob Schneider plays a bumbling thief who ends up unintentionally partnering with Dredd. This character is annoying, superfluous, and reeks of studio interference. Bottom line if you're looking for fun cheese you'll like this movie but for fans of either 80s action films or superhero movies this is a miss. Which is a shame because thee are times Cannon's original idea rears its head above all the garbage and you wish you were watching that movie.