Judge Dredd

Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Armand Assante. In this futuristic action/adventure film, Judge Dredd, the powerful ruler of a mega-city, is falsely accused of corruption and must fight for his life. Based on the comic book series. 1995/color/96 min/R/widescreen.

IJudge Dredd/I is one of those movies that doesn't have a brain of its own, so it can only rip off a lot of ingredients from other, better movies. It's a mishmash of IBlade Runner/I, ITotal Recall/I, and IThe Road Warrior/I, with a dash of IStar Wars/I tossed in for good measure. As if that weren't enough, it's got Sylvester Stallone, who seems to be the only one in the movie who's in on the game and knows it's all a sci-fi scam. Like IThe Fifth Element/I a few years later, IJudge Dredd/I depicts a futuristic megalopolis packed with crowded vertical overgrowth and rampant commerce, where anarchy reigns supreme. Violent "block wars" are fought by lawless citizens with machine guns, and Judge Dredd (Stallone) is one of the city's heavily armed policemen, given free rein to judge and execute the perpetrators of violence. But Dredd himself is subjected to judgment and swift justice when his own gun is identified in the murder of a prominent TV reporter, forcing him to do whatever he can to clear his name. Diane Lane plays his partner in crime-fighting and romance, and Rob Schneider provides juvenile comic relief as Dredd's streetwise sidekick. Impressive special effects are on vivid display, and the movie's fun for what it's worth. Lower your expectations and you just might enjoy it. I--Jeff Shannon/I