The modern era of cinema is the golden age for superhero movies. There is just no real argument against it, as films like The Incredibles, The Dark Knight, and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe helped set the stage for this to become the popular genre it is today. Superhero projects were once often viewed as mindless popcorn adaptations that received poor reviews, yet they’re now global blockbusters that set records, are mostly liked by critics, and sometimes even take home major awards. 2012 was the year that really cemented just how far superhero movies had come. Both The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises grossed more than $1 billion and were solid hits with critics, while the likes of The Amazing Spider-Man, Chronicle, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns were considered strong releases. However, flying under the radar compared to those projects was a comic adaptation that centered on a character who debuted on the big screen back in the ’90s.
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Based on the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd, 2012’s Dredd was directed by Pete Travis and This version of the film may not have made a ton of money, yet it’s in the conversation for the best superhero movie of 2012 and is the year’s most underrated release. In fact, Dredd has a case for the most underrated superhero movie ever
Dredd Is An Incredible Superhero Movie That Deserves More Love
Released in the United States on September 21, 2012, Dredd looked to retell a story about the titular Judge Dredd that didn’t do a lot of what the film adaptation from 1995 covered. This iteration shared a lot in common with 2011’s Indonesian hit The Raid, as both movies follow a protagonist who must fight their way through a high-rise building against a barrage of criminals. In Dredd, the titular Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) works with his rookie partner Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to fight to the top of an apartment complex and take out a drug lord named Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
Dredd was met with pretty high praise upon release and, over a decade later, it still holds a strong 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. What made the movie so well received was that it doesn’t really include any fluff. They don’t spend time on anything that isn’t needed, instead just giving us a straightforward action movie that features almost non-stop combat across its 95-minute runtime. Alas, given the fact that Judge Dredd doesn’t have the name value of Marvel and DC’s heroes, the film flopped at the box office. It barely broke $40 million on a budget of around that same amount.
Positive word of mouth helped people find Dredd after its theatrical run and the sci-fi film has since become a modern cult classic. When people mention the most overlooked and underrated movies of the 2010s, Dredd always comes up. It might not seem like a traditional superhero flick, yet the protagonist fits the bill and comes from a long-running comic book series, so it checks out.
Dredd Corrected The Biggest Mistake That Judge Dredd Made
As noted, 1995 saw the arrival of Judge Dredd, which was the first motion picture to adapt the comic strip. Set in a dystopian future, the story sees the titular judge get convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, and we follow him as he looks to clear his name and take down the actual criminal. It’s a straightforward plot that didn’t do all that much in terms of originality. The end result was poor reviews from critics and even Sylvester Stallone’s star power couldn’t save the box office, as this also disappointed from a financial standpoint.
For longtime fans of the comic strip, Judge Dredd did something that they could never forgive, which was to remove the protagonist’s helmet. In the comics, the character never takes the helmet off, and it is the most iconic aspect of his look. While it’s understandable that the film studio wanted to make sure the audience saw the face of its popular lead actor, that goes against a core aspect of the character, so it missed the mark. 2012’s Dredd righted that ship, as we never see Karl Urban’s face.
Thirlby’s Anderson doesn’t always sport the helmet, but the fact that Dredd does is true to the character. For a lot of loyal fans of the comics, that would’ve been enough to put the 2012 film over the 1995 version on its own. Thankfully, Dredd is actually a tremendous movie that’s full of action and earned its place as the most underrated superhero project from that year.
Dredd is available to stream right now on Prime Video!
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