Long time 2000AD Dredd fan, saw DREDD 3D the week after it came out, thought it a fine Judge Dredd film. A month later the film was still in first-run theaters in Toronto, if that means anything.
Fascinating to see how a film is perceived to be a ‘failure’ if it doesn’t make its budget back the weekend of its American premiere. These days a film has many more opportunities to become profitable beyond the magical opening weekend.
I haven’t seen any box office figures whatsoever for its UK opening, its NZ opening, its Australian opening, its SA opening - you know, countries that actually got 2000 AD on newsstands and who know who the heck Judge Dredd is. I think the film is going to turn a tidy profit when all is said and done. I’ll be renting the DVD myself just to catch all the 2000AD references in the background.
To me, I saw promos and expected it to come out. I didn’t realize it was actually in the theaters until it was already at the Dollar movie.
For those unaware of what that means, movies come out in first release at the big theater chains. After it has its run there, it then hits the discount theaters, where the admission price is dramatically reduced (i.e. now running at $1.50 to $2 at the “Dollar Cinema”). Alternately, this theater runs The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Saturdays for the teen crowd. Incidentally, the place was a shithole 15 years ago before the stadium theaters moved in, and they haven’t done any upgrades/repairs/maintenance since then. Okay, they stopped the leaking A/C in one of the rooms. In other words, you get what you pay for.
Now it’s possible that the cause is my lack of attention, but it also seems likely that there’s something wrong when the production is gone so quickly.
But casual moviegoers don’t create as much buzz as film fanatics do. They’d have been aware of The Raid and thus would have avoided the “ripoff” on principle, losing Dredd word-of-mouth.
Though, perhaps it wasn’t a factor, it grossed over one million in Malaysia, a country that The raid was a huge hit in and where almost everyone can understand Indonesian,
This is close to what I experienced. I heard a lot of sites and blogs talking about it, but then it was just like they all forgot about it once it was time to come out. This is the first I’ve heard of it since before the release.
It’s like everybody got too busy on something else. I mean, my primary form of video-based entertainment nowadays is watching people talk about movies.
There are a lot of things that make this movie terrible, but as for things that just make no sense, consider the following facts, in order:
In the movie, the criminals are peddling an illegal drug, called ‘Slo-mo’, thats only (known) effect is to make you see real-life events happen in slow time.
Compared with illegal drug peddlers in our real world who make money because the drugs they sell make people feel good!. If the drugs don’t make people feel good, you don’t have many return customers, and you don’t end up making much money. That’s our reality.
The main villain is established as such a ruthless bitch in the first scene when she orders her lackeys to skin her betrayers, and throw them off the towers into the plaza as a warning to all others not to betray her. Just before they throw the betrayers over the edge she orders her lackeys to infuse them with the slo-mo drug, supposedly so that their fall to their death will be prolonged, and thus be even more terrifying.
But, if slo-mo makes people feel good (as well as allowing them to slow down real-time events), then the scriptwriters made a silly mistake. Because if the betrayers were feeling good all the way down until they hit the ground, then - what? She’s kind of merciful, isn’t she? If she had just thrown them down without a feel-good drug then she might be more of a villain.
From the above we can only conclude that slo-mo, does not make a user feel good. Its only effect is to make the user experience life in slow motion. The main villain herself even takes it, recreationally, in the bathtub.
If it’s only effect is to slow down time from the perspective of the user, then it is a perfect ‘bullet-time’ drug. That is, it can allow your brain to perceive events and process much quicker than a non-user. Isn’t that the perfect battle-time drug. In fact, if it has no downside, why aren’t the judges using it?
@Isamu:
I didn’t see the movie, but these would be my assumptions.
Yes, it is a combat drug. It doesn’t make you feel good, it’s more of a multiplier - so if you take it while doing something that feels good, you’ll feel more good. If you take it while falling to your death, you’ll feel worse. And who says it has no downside?
Is it really so hard to believe that it would tank?
It’s a B-movie of a little-known character
With no star power behind it (Urban is good, and he’s had some great supporting roles, Eomer, McCoy et al, but no starring roles
Doesn’t have a top ‘geek level’ director or writer behind it
Is associated in the public’s mind with Stallone’s movie
Opened outside the summer movie season
Is a hard R rating
Seems like the safest prediction in the world is that if someone spends $50MM on making it they’re going to take a bath.
I’m sad to say it, as a lifetime comic book geek (with my own trade coming out soon!) but Judge Dredd is inside baseball stuff. Just like Scott Pilgrim tanked this is too much an insider movie to draw real crowds. It’s got ‘cult’ written all over it.
And all love to my UK comic brethren but 2000AD just has no penetration here in the states except to the hardcore types like me. It’s like the ‘Slade’ of comix. Great, but never crossing over properly.
Let’s take the opening chase for example..
The scene establishes several things.
[ol]
[li]Judge Dredd is feared by the underworld[/li][li]Criminals use SloMo[/li][li]Dredd did not open fire until they killed someone[/li][li]Dredd prioritised catching the criminals over helping the struck person.[/li][li]Dredd’s cycle and gun are voice controled.[/li][li]Interfering with the police carries a stiff sentance[/li][li]Dredd offered the criminal a chance to come quietly.[/li][li]Dredd’s gun has many powerful functions.[/li][li]Dredd does not give in to threats.[/li][li]Ｖiolence is routine in MegacityOne, the sign said the area would reopen in 30 minutes, and we saw a cleaning robot come along.[/li][/ol]
And all of this came in one 5 minute scene.
The characters motivations are explained and shown within the film, though they delibrately keep Dredds core secret.
Granted, there were some plotholes. Why didn’t they just send an air evac when Judge Dredd contacted them. And, I’m not sure why the generally harmless SloMo would be such a high priority to stop in such a high crime city.
but you really need to see the movie.