Judge Dredd (1995)

The story is the weak link in what is otherwise a marvellously fun chain. Unfortunately, when it comes to the film industry, the plot-link is kind of the most important one, so I can't really call Judge Dredd a success. And although the general premise is strong, this is not to the credit of the movie, seeing as it sources its material from the comic books of the same name, and 2000 AD. Sylvester Stallone (the titular Dredd) and Rob Schneider (his offsider) are perhaps poor casting options. But they aren't so terrible as to make Judge Dredd unwatchable, especially seeing as there are a quite a few good choices to balance this out. Despite being made in '95, it shares that intrinsically 1980's vision of a dystopian future, where all the buildings are black, all the signs are neon, and all the residents are androgynous punks and goths. Which to be honest I'm a huge sucker for, so this earns Judge Dredd some points (though again, not for originality). It's perhaps not the sort of description you'd expect of a violence-heavy, guilty-pleasure dodgy sci-fi, but Judge Dredd is just so cute! The ABC Warrior I have a particular soft spot for, but even overall, the piece is enjoyable to not take seriously (though taking it seriously is probably impossible). Yes it's true that Judge Dredd is enjoyable in a laughing at it kind of way rather than a laughing with it one, but that's still enjoyable in my books. 51% -Gimly