Dredd

Dredd is a 2012 live-action movie based on the Judge Dredd comic, starring Karl Urban as Dredd. Judge Dredd and rookie Judge Anderson go to the rarely-policed Peach Trees block to investigate a triple homicide, and matters escalate from there.

Very different from the other Judge Dredd movie, which is believed to have harmed the film's profitability despite positive fan reception (notably Dredd keeps his helmet on). Karl Urban has expressed interest in 2016 on doing a Dredd TV series, however.

"Judge Dredd: Think a bullet might interfere with them more."
 * Abnormal Ammo: As with the original, Dredd makes use of a "hot-shot" round to roast a criminal without harming the hostage he'd taken, and a flare round to take out a whole floor full of criminals at once.
 * Action Prologue/Establishing Character Moment: The movie opens with Judge Dredd putting on his Cool Helmet and chasing, stopping and eventually killing a trio of criminals. Aside from their use of the Slo-Mo drug, they're not connected at all to the remainder of the story -- it's just our introduction to Mega-City One and its finest Judge.
 * After the End: Like the comics, the movie's set sometime after a nuclear war burned much of the planet save for the sprawling mega-cities.
 * Alliterative Name: Ma-Ma is taken from her full name, Madeline Madrigal.
 * Asshole Victim: Most of the ones caught in Dredd and Anderson's sights aren't innocent or really sympathetic by any means. Kay, especially.
 * Bad Boss: It becomes evident over the course of the film that Ma-Ma is definitely this, her underlings following her either out of fear or because they're just as much of a Jerkass as her.
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Enforced by Ma-Ma. If Anderson's body shows signs of rape or torture, the Judges will come after them hard, but if she's just shot, they'll chalk her up as another dead rookie and move on.
 * Bloodier and Gorier: The Judge Dredd comics have never shied away from graphically depicting violence, but the movie uses the aptly-named Slo-Mo drug to spectacular effect during some of the more violent scenes.
 * Bottomless Magazines: Averted. Ammunition becomes an issue for both Dredd and Anderson over the course of the movie, forcing them to conserve rounds.
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: For Anderson, her dispatch in the Peach Trees block is a harrowing experience that she would never forget. For Dredd, it's another drug bust.
 * California Doubling: Johannesburg, South Africa, is used as the basic backdrop for the American Mega-City One.
 * Cavalry Betrayal: Ma-Ma has some corrupt judges on her payroll, and arranges for them to be the "backup" for Dredd and Anderson.
 * Character Development: Anderson undergoes quite the trial of fire over the course of the film. She comes of out it shaken but much more badass.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Literally. Early on, Dredd brings up out how the Judges' standard-issue sidearm is coded to its owner and set to blow up the limbs of anyone unauthorized to use it.
 * Cool Helmet: Part of the Judges' standard uniform. Unlike the other Judge Dredd movie, Dredd keeps his helmet on at all times. (In fact, this was a promise made to fans by one of the writers during production!)  Anderson explains that she often goes without it as it interferes with her psychic powers.  Here's what Dredd has to say about that:


 * Good advice.

"Control: Do you need backup? Judge Dredd: No. *revs throttle*"
 * Crapsack World: More fleshed out than the other Judge Dredd movie, complete with fitting Black Comedy. And as befitting the source material, the whole city is constantly on the brink such that the Judges can't be everywhere at once as much as they'd want to. Keep in mind as well that the wastelands outside the mega-cities are even worse.
 * Designated Girl Fight: Averted.
 * Deuteragonist: The film, despite the title, is also as much about Anderson as it is about Dredd.
 * Die Hard on an X: Much of the film has Dredd and Anderson trapped in the Peach Trees block.
 * Dirty Cop: Ma-Ma knows a few.
 * Evil Gloating: The downfall of . He has a wounded and unarmed Dredd at gunpoint, and gloats when Dredd begs him to wait, which leaves him open to get the tables turned on him.
 * Experienced Protagonist: The eponymous Judge is a veteran lawman who is tasked with evaluating newbie Anderson.
 * Famed in Story: Lex refers to Dredd as "The Judge Dredd," and the Chief Judge comments on his reputation as well. When Ma-Ma calls in her corrupt judges, they demand extra payment when they hear that it's Dredd she wants killed.
 * The Fettered: For all the carnage on screen, Dredd never really goes beyond due process, or at least what passes for them in Mega-City One. Anderson also makes a point to keep herself constrained and not go trigger-happy with her psychic powers.
 * Future Slang: We see some written slang, but everyone curses in the King's English.
 * From Nobody to Nightmare: Ma-Ma, who went from being a prostitute at the mercy of a drug lord into a dangerous drug lord in her own right. Dredd and Anderson take it on themselves to make sure she doesn't become a nightmare to the rest of Mega-City One.
 * Freeze Frame Bonus: The map of Mega-City One that's shown very briefly is rather accurate to the comics.
 * Great Offscreen War: A minor example. Ma-Ma and her thugs had since wiped out all the rival gangs in Peach Trees by the time Dredd and Anderson get there.
 * Gatling Good: Eventually, Ma-Ma decides to use a minigun to rip Dredd and Anderson to shreds. It doesn't work.
 * Hidden Depths: Despite Dredd's strict and stoic exterior, he does find Anderson's empathetic idealism admirable.
 * Industrial Ghetto: Places like Peach Trees are essentially this, being run-down vertical neighborhoods effectively run by various gangs. Peach Trees in particular is one of the worst ones, so much so that few Judges dare venture there.
 * Informed Attribute: Downplayed. Mutants are mentioned as usually having glaring physical deformities. Psychics like Anderson, however, can pass for regular humans much more easily, in part by lacking said deformities.
 * It Gets Easier: Anderson initially shows reluctance in even firing her weapon. By the end, she's mowing down baddies about as well as Dredd.
 * Lantern Jaw of Justice: Judge Dredd, of course, and Lex has a pretty good one himself.
 * Meaningful Name: Dredd himself is aptly named, as is Judge Lex ("law").
 * Mind Rape: Kay tries to inflict this on Anderson when she scans him, reasoning that she's in his head. They're actually in her head, and from what we see, the experience is brutal.
 * Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Only in Judge Dredd's world could a triple homicide be the "minor crime" for this trope, but it leads Dredd and Anderson to one of the drug manufacturing and distribution centers whose reach covers the entire city.
 * Modern Stasis: Compared to the other Judge Dredd film and arguably the comics, most fashions and firearms wouldn't look out of place in the present. Mega-City One is also shown as looking more contemporary-looking than futuristic.
 * No One Could Survive That: Said by a gang member after Ma-Ma deploys the gatling guns. His boss overrides him: "They're not dead 'till we find them dead.  Or part of them, anyway."
 * Not So Different: Subverted. Throughout the film, there are scenes subtly showing how similar Dredd and Ma-Ma (and through them the Judges and their criminal foes) seem to be. However, Dredd is shown being more willing to show restraint whenever necessary and doesn't resort to killing everyone in a room until the situation calls for it.
 * One Man Army: When chasing the criminals during the Action Prologue:

"Dredd: Control. Perps just wiped out an innocent. I'm taking them down."
 * Power Walk: Judge Lex's squad strolls into Peach Trees like they own the place. Since they are the Law, it's justified.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Dredd may be "the law", but he's not unreasonable. He only employs deadly force in the Action Prologue when the criminals run over and kill a pedestrian, and he even offers a deal when the last one takes a hostage (life without parole -- as opposed to death, which he delivers when the criminal refuses the offer).  During the early moments of her evaluation, Anderson and Dredd come across a vagrant (sentence: three weeks in the iso-cubes), but she advises leaving him to focus on the murder, which Dredd agrees with, advising the vagrant "Don't be here when we get back."
 * Scenery Gorn: While Peach Trees block isn't exactly much to look at, the ensuring devastation over the course of the film is a sight to behold.
 * Secret Test of Character: Sort of. While Anderson being partnered up with Dredd was explicitly stated as being part of her on-duty training, it's implied that Dredd has also been putting her in his own private assessment on whether she's up to the task of being a Judge.
 * Seen It All: Dredd, in sharp contrast to Anderson keeps his cool even in the most harrowing situations. Anderson herself gradually slides into this over the course of the plot.
 * Shout-Out: A piece of graffiti (seen when Dredd is being shot at with miniguns) says "Judge Minty is the Law", a nod to a fan-film.
 * Slice of Life: In a twisted sense, this is another day in the office for Judge Dredd.
 * Taking You with Me: Ma-Ma is eventually cornered by Dredd, but not before pulling her final trump card: a bomb set to blow up Peach Trees if she were to die.
 * Training from Hell: Dredd is told to "chuck [Anderson] in the deep end" by the Chief Judge, to which he replies, "It's all a deep end." He's right!
 * Tranquil Fury: Dredd's mood for much of the movie, and Anderson picks it up as well. Dredd's not one to ham it up in this movie, but he's clearly got some fire in him -- for example, in the Action Prologue, Dredd doesn't employ deadly force until the perps he's chasing run over and kill a pedestrian:


 * True Neutral: TJ, Peach Trees' resident medic, tries to stay out of the whole mess and while willing to give Judges Dredd and Anderson information, refuses to go further than that.
 * Wretched Hive: Mega-City One, of course. Twelve major crimes reported every minute, 17,000 per day, and the Judges can only manage to respond to six percent of them. Dredd and Anderson are the first Judges to respond to Peach Trees in years.