While at first these beautiful slow motion shots may seem out of place in an action movie, anyone who has seen Zhang Yimou’s martial arts movies (like Hero) knows how beauty can be used amidst violence to create a stark contrast. The score by Paul Leonard-Morgan, who provided a similarly memorable score for Limitless, really does a lot to enhance the entire movie.
The other thing worth mentioning is how gory the movie is. Dredd is definitely not for the squeamish as Travis takes full advantage of the R rating, so when Dredd doles out his justice, it’s in the most violent and bloody way possible. (And the 3D really enhances all the things we’ve mentioned. We’re not sure if this was shot in 3D or converted afterwards but Travis and Dod Mantle create visuals that utilize the extra dimension.)
That’s about all we have to say about Dredd for now. The audience made up of a mix of press and fans seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, but we’ll probably see it a second time before writing a full-on review with rating.
Dredd 3D opens nationwide on Friday, September 21. Look for our Comic-Con interview with the film’s star Karl Urban very soon.
