Marvel and DC certainly grab the most headlines when it comes to big screen adaptations of their comics and graphic novels, and often for good reason. However, there's one comic book movie that should be revered up there with the likes of Avengers: Endgame and The Dark Knight, and it comes from a very different place.
The 2012 Dredd film managed to capture the spirit and ideology of 2000AD's eponymous star perfectly – far more than Stallone's debacle of a showing in 1995. And, for me, it is still one of the best adaptations out there.
But, if you want to see why, you don't have long – Netflix plans to remove it from its streaming service on 29 February 2024.
Originally released in 3D (but actually better in 2D, in my opinion), Dredd stars Karl Urban (The Boys, Star Trek) as the lawman, with superb support from Olivia Thirby (Y: The Last Man) as Judge Anderson and Game of Thrones' Lena Headey as the lead villain, Ma-Ma.
It is set mainly in one mega-block as Dredd and Anderson have to head up the floors to get to the drug kingpin. Cue plenty of superb, gritty and tight action sequences.
In many ways, it is reminiscent of the Indonesian action thriller The Raid, but there are plenty of differentiators and Urban's portrayal of Joe Dredd could only come from someone who knows and understands 2000AD well.
It's hugely recommended you catch it before it leaves Netflix for good.
Wasn't there a Judge Dredd TV show too?
Although plans for a movie sequel stalled, 2000AD owner Rebellion (also the developer / publisher behind the Sniper Elite games) announced in 2017 that it was working on a TV series, Judge Dredd: Mega-City One. However, little has progressed in the seven years since.
Rebellion's CEO, Jason Kingsley, did reveal that there are still negotiations going on behind the scenes though, telling Sports Illustrated last August that he's still "trying to find the right business partner" for it.
"We’ve had conversations with all the big players. Conversations are still ongoing. But the terms that we’re being asked for, we can’t support. They’re not how we want to work." he added.
"We’re getting there. We’re making progress. But it’s slow, slow, slow. So yes, I want to get some more of it done. Obviously, I want to do cool stuff. There’s nothing to announce yet."
In the meantime, another 2000AD character is heading to cinemas and potentially streaming services. Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) recently revealed that his upcoming Rogue Trooper movie is an animated adventure mainly created using Unreal 5 (a game development engine, usually).
