Star Wars (1977) meets Ben-Hur (1959) in director Danny Cannon’s imaginatively over-the-top science-fiction rendering of the celebrated 2000 AD comic-strip hero.
The year is 2139 AD and the world has formed into densely populated Mega Cities with the Cursed Earth being the uninhabitable region lying between them.
Law and order in Mega City One is maintained by a fleet of elite officers who are judge, jury and executioner rolled into one, and Judge Dredd (Sylvester Stallone) is the most prolific of the brigade.
Dredd finds himself framed by the evil Rico (Armand Assante), a former judge who has just escaped from prison and has a plan to implement extreme measures to bring justice to a city that is being plagued by rioting.
Diane Lane as Judge Hershey, the romantic judge with a conscience, has some excellent moments, and Cannon continually accents the spark and humour of the comic, while ensuring the visuals are always spectacular and epic.
Frequently stunning and always exciting, this is how fans like their Stallone served up best – monosyllabic, without subtlety, biceps bulging and in constant action.
Judge Dredd
Sylvester Stallone
Rico
Armand Assante
Fergie
Rob Schneider
Judge Griffin
Jürgen Prochnow
Judge Fargo
Max von Sydow
Judge Hershey
Diane Lane
McGruder
Joanna Miles
Ilsa
Joan Chen
Olmeyer
Balthazar Getty
Hammond
Mitchell Ryan
Geiger
Ian Dury
Mean Machine
Christopher Adamson
Pa Angel
Scott Wilson
Junior Angel
Ewen Bremner
Narrator
James Earl Jones
Director
Danny Cannon
