Judge Dredd creator John Wagner has spoken to the L.A. Times on the upcoming Dredd, due for release this September. Wagner who created the original 2000 A.D. with Carlos Ezquerra in 1977, told the paper how the new version differs from 1995’s Sylvester Stallone effort:
"'Dredd' homes in on the essential job of judging, Instant justice in a violent future city... The plot is about Dredd and his world. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city. Perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film. They tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot."
"though apart from my initial viewing I haven’t seen the film since it came out. They told the wrong story. It didn’t have that much to do with Dredd the character as we know him. I don’t think Stallone was a bad Dredd, though it would have been better and lent him more cred if he hadn’t revealed his face. He was just Dredd in the wrong story. I envy their budget, though. Some of the CGI was very good, and the re-creations of the Angel Gang and the robot. The robot actually came from a Pat Mills story and didn’t belong in Dredd, but it looked good. If the plot had revolved around characters like them the film would have been more successful."
Wagner is looking forward to seeing what director Pete Travis does with his talented cast. With Karl Urban taking on the titular role of Judge Joseph Dredd and Olivia Thirlby playing his rookie partner:
"I like the actors. They’re well cast and they handled their parts well. Olivia Thirlby is perfect as Anderson, the young psi judge. She gives the character a touching vulnerability. Karl Urban will not remove his helmet and will not kiss his costar."
