“I Am the Law”: How Dredd (2012) Captures the Spirit of the Judge Dredd Mythos
In the long shadow of comic book adaptations, Dredd stands as a lean, gritty, and faithful tribute to one of the most iconic antiheroes in comic history: Judge Dredd. Far removed from the neon kitsch and narrative misfires of the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone, Dredd is a stripped-down, brutal, and grounded take on the lawman of Mega-City One. But more than just a hard-edged action flick, Dredd is deeply embedded in the lore and philosophy of the original 2000 AD comic series. Dredd is a film that doesn’t just adapt the character it’s portraying —it understands him. The being that would become synonymous with the faceless reality of justice first appeared within 2000 AD issue #2 back in 1977, and was the brainchild of writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra . Conceived during a time of political unrest and growing authoritarianism, Judge Joseph Dredd was a dark satire of fascism wrapped in the skin of a futuristic law enforcer. Set within Mega-City One, ...