Dredd, one of the best — and lowest-grossing — comic book movies in recent memory, is currently streaming for free on Tubi, the free, ad-supported streaming platform owned by the Fox Corporation. The 2012 film, which was distributed by Lionsgate, also has the distinction of being one of the earliest movies to feature The Boys and Thor: Ragnarok star Karl Urban in a comic book adaptation (the other being 2010’s RED). Dredd was the second shot at a movie based on Judge Dredd, the beloved 2000AD character who first appeared in 1977. The first, 1995’s Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone is…less well-remembered.
When Dredd debuted outside the 2012 Comic Con International in San Diego, its Rotten Tomatoes score was Certified Fresh and a full sixty percentage points better (78% versus 18%) than the character’s previous big-screen outing.
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Dredd stars Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, an all-powerful law officer in a dystopian society called Mega-City One. The film follows Judge Dredd and his apprentice as they are tasked with bringing down a drug lord in a high-rise apartment building filled with criminals. The result? A wildly creative tower siege in which Dredd and his new partner have a seemingly endless supply of cannon fodder goons thrown at them, all of whom they dispatch in a wide variety of violent ways.
The drug being sold, “Slo-Mo,” intoxicates its users to see the world in slow motion, which gave director Pete Travis got to play around with some cool visuals that suited the 3D gimmick that was everywhere in the years right after the first Avatar.
There are a lot of reasons to love the movie, but chief among them is Urban’s performance as Judge Dredd. The star honored the source material by keeping his helmet on at all times, allowing Dredd to be the blank-slate face of an authoritarian “Law.” Producers know how beloved it is, and have been trying to figure out some way to do a continuation for years — but the movie lost nearly $40 million at the box office, which makes it a tough sell for executives.
“I certainly would be interested to revisit the character,” Urban said in 2022. “There’s such a great depth of material there that was created by John Wagner and various writers over the years, particularly the stories revolving around Judge Death and lots of great stories. To me it doesn’t bother me if I get the opportunity to play Dredd again or if it’s someone else. I just want to see those stories.”
Dredd also stars Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, and Domhnall Gleeson in key roles.