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Synopsis (courtesy of imdb.com):

The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One – a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture – a 200 storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma and her ruthless clan.

My Take:

Thank God that now there are more and more movies designed to be presented in 3D. MIB III, Paranorman, Resident Evil, to name a few. This iteration of Dredd is also one of them. In fact, the 3D version is so good that the 2D looses a lot of things in the visual department.

This version of Dredd is also very faithful to the original comic strip unlike the overblown Stallone‘s version of Judge Dredd which I also like for its tongue-in-cheek approach of the character.

Not only the visual quality is amazing and in context with the storyline, the audio presentation is also top notch in its three dimensionality matching the visual perfectly. LFE literally kicks butt even after I lowered it by 25 dB.  The usage of 3,000 fps slo-mo capture is a tad overused but they make a really good 3D demo.

For $22 for its 3D version, it’s a no brainer either you are a 3D demo, sound quality or both. Don’t bother watching the 2D version however, as it detracts too much from the storytelling and flow, rendering movie into a waste of time.

Studio and Year: Lionsgate Film – 2012
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 95 minutes
Genre: Action
Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Optimized for 11.1 Neo X

English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby
Directed by: Pete Travis
Music by: Paul Leonard-Morgan
Written by: Alex garland
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: January 8, 2013

Equipment used for this review:
Anthem MRX-700 Receiver
Grandviewscreen 96” 21:9 matte-white 1.0-gain screen
Kimber Kable 19e HDMI cables
PSB Century 300i (front and surround speakers)
PSB Image C5 (centre speaker)
PSB Subseries 300 (subwoofer)
Panasonic PT-AE7000U projector
Pioneer BDP-62FD BD player
Vermouth Black Curse speaker wires
Viewing room is as per THX and SMPTE recommendation with 45-degree Field of View

Audio: 10/10
Video (3D): 10/10
Video (2D):7/10
Storyline: 6/10

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