Dredd (2012 film; not to be mistaken for the 1995 film “Judge Dredd”)

The biggest setback against this surprisingly engaging action-thriller comes not of anything it does but what it represents. If art consists of a conversation between artist and audience, “Dredd” makes no bones about its mission statement: “Hey, we were able to make a thoughtful and exciting character-driven film out of a scorched Earth property for less than half of what would be considered a shoestring budget for comic book adaptations. Imagine what we could do with more resources at our disposal!” It’s been ten years and, indeed, my imagination has gone wild with possibilities that will likely never be realized.

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