How to make a good Judge Dredd movie

Vantage Point director Pete Travis has signed on to direct a new 3D Judge Dredd movie reboot. As exciting as this news is, I can't but be a little apprehensive. I really feel like he's not a character that is ever going to work in a Hollywood feature. At least not in the traditional manner in which I'm sure this film is going to attempt.

See, I've got an interesting take on how to make a really good "Dredd," movie. The problem is that Dredd just isn't going to work for most audiences. You're going to have to try to humanise him too much, which takes away from the potency of the character. He's kind of like a exaggeration. His skill, attitude and abilities make him difficult to relate to. Heck, in the comics he doesn't even take off his helmet. I'm fairly certain you never see his face.

The Judge Dredd movie in 1995 tried to make him more human, give him a traditional action hero kind of story line and it turned into a joke. So how can you make a really great judge Dredd movie? Simple. Don't make it a Judge Dredd movie. Make it a 2000 AD

movie. Do it the same way Sin City was made. Several different little short stories. Set in Mega City one, many of these tales will feature Dredd and end up tangling together into a climax in the end. One of the best features of the 2000 AD comics is these little one off tales they have inside. These original, short stories have served to paint the picture of a fascinating view of the city. By following the Sin City movie formula you get to showcase this incredible landscape while still retaining the potency of the Dredd character. Smaller doses, highly stylised. Hell, you'd probably want to film it all on green screen too.

You want the film to have this over hyped style, so that these extreme characters and bizarre future settings work together. The funny thing is that by making a 2000 AD movie instead of Judge Dredd, the character is probably more likely to be preserved. Remember how badass Marv was in Sin City? Now imagine a Judge Dredd presented the same way. That's how it oughta be, kids!