Well, that was wildly different from last time! The first-look teaser was very serious and this one’s the complete opposite, with several comedy moments and Bohemian’s Rhapsody cheerfully blaring away. It just goes to show how marketing can change the tone to whatever they want. Who knows how the actual movie is presented? I enjoyed it though.

Probably the cast. A good cast can really elevate a middling movie. Karl Urban IS Dredd, and Lena Headey was a great baddie.

Nah, not all of it. I do agree with the gritty part, and that it had some well shot action. The one thing I strongly diagree with is the villain, I found her very bland and forgettable. The whole thing just felt like it didn't have enough of a story and diverse ideas for the action to fill the whole movie. It's the kind of thing that should have been a 20 minute short film and than I' say it's a pretty impressive adaptation. But as is it just dragged for me, and lacked tension.

The reason I brought up Die Hard is that it gets exactly right the things Dredd gets wrong for a scenario like this. A great, clever and charismatic villain. Diverse action scenes. And most important- the mian character is relateable and beliveably "weak", in that he can be hurt, often is, is in way over his head and he knows it and so on. He has what Tom Hardy, in a Mad Max interview recently, called a "everything hurts quality". That kind of action hero gives the movie tension. He can be hurt, you can even sort of believe he could die (I think the character in the novel it's based on dies at the end). Dredd is just totally unphased by the situation. This is what he does, he knows he can plow through whatever is thrown at him, and he does. No tension.

For all my complaints, I can see why other might find it an ok action flick, especially if thee are bigger fans of Judge Dredd than me, which isn't hard. I just don't get why so many people completly loose their minds over this movie, like it's the greatest work of cinema since Casablanca.

A SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING TO THE DREDD (2012) MOVIE BELOW:

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He did run out of ammo, and was shot through with an armor-piercing bullet. Saved by his partner.

A bit like Robocop. Robocop also plows through whatever is thrown at him, but still becomes vulnerable at a certain point of the movie, and against his nature must rely on her (female) partner in order to survive. At the same time, he learns a thing or two about humanity from his partner.

Part of the charm (in both cases) was that they were seasoned professionals who are able to push their fears to the background, but still end up vulnerable. For some reason I am now also reminded of a third movie, Leon. Again, a badass professional showing no fear and shooting down everyone, but then he meets someone special...

Also, part of the "tension" in Dredd came from the protagonist having a very simple, cynical and black and white view on the world, which causes a bit of friction with his partner who represents the more humane view on life in the movie.

I must again stress though that I don't consider Dredd as good and interesting movie as Robocop, but I keep finding these parallels between the two (and maybe even Leon).

Die Hard (the first movie, I didn't really like any of the sequels that much) was a great movie too, in a somewhat different way. Its "the underdog saves the day"-theme felt very refreshing back when you were used to Dirty Harry or Rambo type of heroes who have no weaknesses.

I loved Dredd, so filled with gritty future good-ness.

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING

BATMAN IS GONNA PUNCH JARED LETO IN THE FACE

YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH

What have you got against Jared?

after I read how he was on set for Suicide Squad he seems like a hollywood-esque dumbass up there with the best of em'. and I remember most of his music being glam rock pop chart stuff. glam rock pop chart stuff is fine, if that's your thing, but his band's was cookie-cutter made-for-radio stuff. and he wears eyeliner.

And I still don't know the guy at all. I never heard a single song of his, and I think the only movie he was in I ever saw was Thin Red Line, and I wouldn't even remember he was there if it wasn't for wikipedia.

Jared Leto; Oscar winner for best supporting actor - Dallas Buyers Club, was the blonde guy in Fight Club, brother in Lord of War, Panic Room, Requiem for a Dream and Chapter 27. Also musician in 30 seconds to Mars.

I'm looking forward to his performance.

Was so into the joker performance he gave cast members bullets and a dead hedgehog or something as presents. He also scared the Director.

Great in DBC and Fight Club. Of course, everyone was great in Fight Club.

It's a well-made mature audiences action movie in an era in which competently made action movies are a dying art.

I quite like it but I do agree that the villain isn't a classic. Charismatic villains are another thing that modern storytelling doesn't seem to get - I can't remember the last movie I saw with a really good "love to hate" villain.

As for Die Hard vs. Dredd...well, they're inversions of each other, really. Die Hard is about a vulnerable hero who suffers for his efforts. Dredd is a faceless monolith, so dehumanized that it becomes hilariously absurd, and that's the way he's supposed to be. The Stallone movie tried to humanize Dredd, made him take off his helmet and have a "character arc" and it was a disaster because that just isn't Dredd.

I don't think action movies are quite as badly off now as to be a dying art, and Dredd would not come even close to being in my top 10 for the last decade. I do agree however, that great villains are in short supply nowadays. There might be someone I'm forgetting, but I really think the last truly great, hall-of-fame level villain to be introduced in a major cinematic release was Ian McKellen's Magneto, and that was almost 16 years ago.

To bring this somewhat back on topic, superhero movies are struggling with that now. There are so many great villains in comics, and yet throught so many movies based on them we only got a handfull of well done villains. Marvel is suffering greatly for that, it almost feels like they only have Loki or "some generic bad CEO". Fox menaged to fail astonishingly with Dr. Doom, and twice. If DC fucks up Luthor and Joker now, it's really going to suck the life out of the genre.

Watched the trailer, it got me hyped to go listen to some Queen :).

New Suicide Squad trailer :)

A lot of new footage in that trailer, and yet it doesnt really tell us anything new. Looks ok, though the "Bohemian Rapsody" trailer was better. Honestly with everything I've seen and read so far I really don't know what kind ofm ovie to expect, what tone they are really going for, especially since the marketing people, especially over at WB, would now probably try to convince everyone that Se7en is a lighthearted comedy. When I think about it now I'm actually quite impressed with the trailer for Rogue One being as serious as it is, although DIsney has a history of doing a bait & switch with the tone of it's movies (Iron Man3 anyone?).