Subject: REVIEW: JUDGE DREDD

From: [email-masked] (Michael J. Legeros)
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 1995 01:09:47 GMT

JUDGE DREDD
		       A film review by Michael John Legeros
			Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
  
Directed by      Danny Cannon 
Written by       William Wisher and Steven E. De Souza, from a story 
                 by Michael De Luca and William  Wisher 
Cast             Sylvester Stallone, Armande Assante, Diane Lane, Rob 
                 Schneider, Jurgen Prochnow, Joan Chen, Max von Sydow 
MPAA Rating      "R" (presumably for violence and profanity) 
Running Time     96 minutes 
Reviewed at      Wynnsong 10, Durham (30JUN95) 
 
== 
 
     Despite handsome casting and sharp production values, last month's
second comic-book-to-film is a failure from the get-go.  The tone
problems start in the very first scenes, after James Earl Jones' somber
narration introduces the judicial system of the future, where "judges"
roam the streets of Mega-City One, acting as judge, jury, and
executioner.  The toughest judge is Judge Dredd (Sylvester Stallone),
who's emotionless commitment to "da law" strikes fear in the hearts of
evil men.

     Boasting a great set-up, JUDGE DREDD sounds tougher than it really
is.  The screenplay--by William Wisher and Steven E. De Souza--tries
to cover too many bases at once, as if someone at Disney decided that a
Facist character in a graphic comic book could have some sort of mass
audience appeal.  So they "humanize" the movie by giving Dredd a hollow
sense of humor, a female Judge/love-interest/sparring-partner (Diane
Lane), and even a comic sidekick (Rob Schnieder, who obviously didn't
learn *his* lesson after appearing alongside Stallone in DEMOLITION
MAN).

     Actually, *that* film is much more enjoyable than the wasted work
here.  Director Danny Cannon has visualized correctly, but the story
contains too much absurdity to be taken seriously.  Sci-fi
hillibillies; malfunctioning motorcycles; and, yes, even a cat-fight
(between Lane and Joan Chen).  Sigh.  The whole thing is actually not
awful until the last twenty minutes, when Stone and Armande Assante
(who plays the villain) are standing and shouting in each other's
faces, their respectively flawed diction trying to work their mouths in
the direction of north by northwest.

BOTTOM LINE: Dreadful.

Grade: D+