Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen
It’s judgement time – Dredd 3D
Set in a futuristic American wasteland, Dredd explores a world over-run by criminals. The only justice available comes in the form of street cops called ‘Judges’ who act as judge, jury and, if need be, executioner. In the violence of Mega City One, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the Judge to be feared, dispensing judgement with clinical proficiency.
When he is teamed up with rookie, Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), and takes on a triple homicide in a usually Judge-free neighbourhood what at first seems to be a standard job becomes something far more sinister. The deaths are linked to Slo-Mo, a new drug that slows reality down for its users. It, and the turf that Dredd and Anderson have entered, belong to sadistic crime-boss Ma-Ma, and she will stop at nothing to make sure neither of them leave her neighbourhood alive.
The premise of Dredd was fantastic and director, Pete Travis, has manipulated it to its full potential. The neighbourhoods in Dredd’s world are super-structure buildings, encompassing hundreds of floors with each floor accommodating possibly dozens of families. The whole building lives in fear of Ma-Ma and her clan and so, once the building is under lock-down, Dredd and Anderson are utterly on their own.
Casting was probably the most important aspect with this film. Though there was not large cast, each of the actors was evidently chosen for how well they worked together. On their own, the cast shone; but when acting alongside each other, the push and pull of the interactions, both spoken and unspoken, resonated. Dredd’s character is set in stone, unwavering and seemingly incapable of seeing grey areas. The contrast between him and Ma-Ma, who is coldly calculating but thrives on the pain around her, is palpable. While Ma-Ma is demonstrative, making a spectacle of the devastation she unleashes; Dredd is understated, economical in action even as he wreaks his own brand of destruction. There are no similarities between the characters but, as enemies, their chemistry runs in perfect synch.
Anderson plays a much different role in the film, giving the audience a point with which to sympathise. Young and empathetic, she has all of the emotions that Dredd does not, and that makes her essential. While Dredd does undergo character development, his personality is too inflexible to make a drastic change. Anderson’s, however, is not and much of the emotional journey (including Dredd’s emotional journey) is facilitated by her.
As can be expected, there is an incredible amount of violence in Dredd. While carnage doesn’t usually bother me, in Dredd it did. The reason for this is that the brunt of it, both physical and mental, was used by Judges against Kay (Wood Harris), a black character, and it could be described as torture. He’s a bad guy for sure, but while police are still beating and killing people for not being white, this hits too close to home.
Visually Dredd is a pleasure to watch. The setting is gritty; giving the film an authentic atmosphere of a desperate and uncertain future. The contrast of this against the immaculateness of the Judges’ uniforms and bikes signifies the role they play in bringing order to the city. While these things add to the film, the treatment of special effects is the thing that I found most inspired. As the characters are tailored to enhance each other; the plot in Dredd is tailored to suit the effects. Slo-Mo, the drug that slows time down, is used to great effect during action scenes, adding dimension in a plausible way.
Based on the iconic Judge Dredd comics, Dredd is a dark and uncompromising film that will leave audiences hoping for a sequel. The plot, characters and even special effects are woven together to make Dredd a brilliantly multi-layered experience that is as visually stunning as it is entertaining.
Thanks to Ubisoft, we had the chance to sit down for a chat with Assassins Creed’s II and III Production Manager Julien Laferriere, who visited Australia for the media preview launch of Assassins Creed III.
The venue started with an introduction and Q&A, followed by the chance of testing the game on Play Station 3 and Ps Vita, and let us tell you it`s fantastic and features new amazing things, such as the capability of hunting animals to survive in the middle of the forest, mini games and some epic navy combats where you have to command your own ship and defeat enemies in the middle of the sea in order to protect your allies.
The game is set against the backdrop of the American Revolution in the late 18th century, and introduces a new hero, Ratohnhaké:ton, of Native American and English heritage. Adopting the name Connor, he becomes the new voice for justice in the ancient war between the Assassins and Templars.
Check our interview with Mr. Julien Laferriere below:
SR: First of all, thanks for your time, man.
JL: Pleasure.
SR: First question is how does it feel to be involved in one of the greatest video game sagas ever?
JL: (Laughs). Wow! I mean, it’s… I feel like it’s an honour, honestly. It’s really a privilege, and I think everybody on the team sees it like that. A lot of people love that game and look forward to it, so we’ve put a lot of love into it. Fans and players in general? We love to hear what they have to say. We read all the comments on the blogs and the forum posts and we just want to make a good game that players will like.
SR: When did you first get on board with the project, and how did you react when you got the letter saying “We are doing another Assassins Creed Game”?
JL: (Laughs). I’ve been on the franchise for 5 years now. I started on AC 2, and then I did Brotherhood. After doing Brotherhood, there was already a team working on AC 3, prototyping some stuff like the forest and the naval battles. Then the senior producer, Francois Pelland, asked me if I wanted to join the team. Obviously I said yes. (Laughs).
SR: What would you say is your favourite character of the franchise?
JL: That’s a good question. Um. It might be a cliché, but I’m very happy about what we did with Connor. I feel that he’s a very complex and rich character and you get to live key moments of his life and really understand where he’s going. So, I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m working on the game so he’s very close, but I really like Connor. In the Ezio trilogy, I was a big fan of Leonardo da Vinci. I liked the way he was portrayed. I really liked that character a lot. So yeah, it would be a close call between Leo and Connor, but I think Connor wins.
SR: Are you guys concerned with moving to another main character and not keeping with the Desmond story?
JL: We are continuing the Desmond story. Like the metaplot of Assassin’s Creed is a lot about Desmond as well. So we’re following the Desmond story exactly where we left it off after Revelations. But to answer your question… I mean, Ezio was such a popular character, right? Fans loved him. And that’s why we made three games with Ezio. People were loving that guy, so coming up with a new character… obviously there’s always butterflies in your stomach…when you’re gonna introduce that guy. And so far the response has been pretty positive. We’re very happy with the way things came out with Connor. I think he feels very different but very true to the Assassins in the same way. So, we’re pretty happy now, but I can tell you that when we first introduced the character, we knew we had something interesting, but we hoped that players would think the same thing.
SR: Which one is your favourite feature of this new game?
JL: My personal favourite feature is the addition of the forest, it’s true. For me, the forest was the first thing that we prototyped…the first thing that we said we had to do, you know? We have to do the forest. We also have a lot of new stuff in the game. Like – the map itself is really big, really fresh, really new. But all the game play that we have…all the new ingredients come from the forest. Like the hunting, for example, the free running, the climbing. All of that comes from the forest and we transpose those ideas in the cities. So for me, it’s really the forest that’s my favourite.
SR: The Internet buzz says there’s a film adaptation in the works. Do you know anything about that?
JL: Ah, honestly – and this is the real answer, it’s not the ‘PR’ answer – I’ve been so busy with working on the single player portion of the game that I can’t really comment on anything going on around the game, unfortunately. I’m so focused on making this game.
SR: Do you have any favourite actors you’d like to see play them?
JL: I don’t know. I mean, there are a lot of good people out there. I just hope that it’s somebody who fits the character, you know, and that it’s true to the story that we’re telling. I wouldn’t necessarily want to see a big name actor. I would just want to see somebody who would play the role right, you know? I don’t have any examples, but for me that would be important, you know? To have somebody who stays true to the character – who doesn’t try to portray him differently from what he is.
SR: So, after Assassins 3, what is next for you guys?
JL: We’re all gonna be on vacation. A well-deserved vacation, for sure. I mean, we’re all gonna take some time to rest. What are the future plans for the franchise, the next stuff coming up or whatever? You’ll have to wait, and you won’t hear it from me because my job here is to talk about AC3; I can’t really comment about the future.
SR: Well, thanks so much for your time. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
JL:: Thanks to you and enjoy the game
Assassins Creed III will be available in Australia on October 31, 2012
Interview thanks to The Spotlight Report
