Let me start off by saying I love Judge Dredd. It was the first comic I ever read, and sitting on shelf beside me in this very room I have all 22 volumes of Judge Dredd Complete Case Files as well as a few other collections. These are my credentials: I've read and possess every prog and Megazine story up to 1995, which incidentally is when the first film came out. Now I will state my case.

The Mega-City depicted in the '95 film is rife with overpasses, on-ramps and blocks that are close together. In the Dredd 3D there is a TON of empty space between the blocks which doesn't make sense since so many stories in 2000 A.D. are based on rival blocks that are in close proximity that cause the residents to suffer from block madness, which typically sets off block wars. Also, take a look at that epic shot of Dredd on his Lawmaster Bike overlooking the city, THIS is what Mega-City looks like. It's not a perfectly flat land it has a depth, and density.

The Judge's uniform, particularly the iconic shoulder pads and badge are dead on. The helmet indeed lacks the X design on the front, which is one of the few things the 2012 film has over the '95 as far as being true to the original. I could have done without the codpiece, but both films lack large boots and kneepads.

Dredd's Lawmaster bike's large shape, and Judge's Eagle emblazoned on the front is straight out of the comics. The 2012 film's bike seems to be a motorcycle with a gigantic plastic piece covering the front with very little flair other than the red stripe which outlines this piece.

Let's talk plots and characters. The 1995 pulled a TON from the comics. Present was a different (yet improved IMO) version of Rico Dredd, which not only told his story note for note, but built him into a far more threatening character than the one in the comic. There was the Angel Gang, Pa, Junior and Mean Machine with even the 4-Dials on his forehead! There were references to the Robot Wars, Judge Hersey was dead-on, and you got to see Judge Fargo go on the Long Walk. I understand Fargo would have been dead by this point but I said the '95 film is much closer to the source material, I acknowledge it isn't perfect. Did I mention a portion of the film actually takes place in the Cursed Earth?

How about humor? Oddball jokes and parody were a big part of the Judge Dredd comic so it was only natural they made their way into the film. Some may think the jokes in the 1995 film were out of place, and they would be wrong. Rob Schneider's character is one that we've seen time and again throughout the pages of 2000 A.D. Someone who, though being a criminal, may point out the absurdity and faults of the Judges system and he himself is a victim of it. Humor in the 2012 film is virtually nonexistent, and if there it more resembles gallows humor than parody.

And finally the violence of the Dredd films. Many complain the 1995 film was a "cop-out" for it's PG-13 rating, I don't see it that way. Throughout most of the Judge Dredd strip's existence it was NOT overly violent. Fans of the 2012 film may have you believe peoples faces being shot off in slow-motion is more true to the original and again they would be wrong. They are entitled to think a surplus of grotesque violence is better but it is definitely not true to the character. Dredd does not walk around in pools of blood and guts, he is a judge and that often means making difficult decisions. Dredd in the 2012 should be booked and immediately put into the Psycho Cubes for observation. This is not a man who should be training other Judges. Put simply, the man kills everything in sight. That is not how Judge Dredd solves his problems.

This is my case. I could go on further but I think I've made my point. People may like Dredd 3D more than Judge Dredd '95 and that is fine. That said, if you are a fan of Dredd 3D and would like to read Judge Dredd comics because you like the movie so much, you will be disappointed because there ARE no comics that are like that movie.

• The Helmet is pretty much Dredd's "face" and the 1995 helmet is completely wrong.
• As you mentioned 1995 version has the ludicrous cod-piece addition which is distracting and camp.
• Materials used for the costume look cheap (plastic and spandex), the materials in 2012 are much better.

Overall neither are accurate, but 2012 is more believable and serious whilst having a fairly accurate Helmet

The Judge Minty fan film is more accurate where it comes to costumes than both.

Agreed, Mega-City One in 1995 is more accurate to comics

Agreed

Partially agree but any slight gains the 1995 movie makes here it loses to Rob Schneider's lazy Jar Jar Binks-level comedy relief antics and goofing, I disagree that characters like Fergie are a mainstay in Dredd comic books.

Lazy Comic-relief Characters like Fergie are pretty much non-existent in 2000AD outside of the 1970s. The humour in Judge Dredd is usually a lot more in-depth than prat-falling and pulling faces, and doing lousy impersonations.

2012 has some satire in it, and the original comic had a lot of gallows humour.

1. *Cheerful announcement* "Mall will re-open in 30 minutes" (after a bloodbath has just taken place)
2. "Sir, he's thinking about going for your gun." "Yeah." "He just changed his mind" "yeah"
3. "Drug Bust, Perps were uncooperative."
4. "Release the hostage, unharmed, and I guarantee you a sentence of life in an iso-cube, without parole."

Off the top of my head some Satire and dead-pan humour in 2012, both mainstays of Dredd comics

All of whom had been changed into completely different, faux-religious wasteland characters who were cannibals, as opposed to the comicbook characters who were simply moronic, sadistic thieves and murderers from Mega-City Three.

They looked right, but that was just about it.

Hershey was unrecognisable, and functioned solely as a love-interest, she was more like a wimpy version of DeMarco.

Stallone took his helmet off

Hershey kissed Stallone and he allowed it, which is wildly out of character for both and would've gotten her a verbal warning.

Stallone's portrayal was completely off-base, he acted more like a sulking toddler, and even said the Law was sometimes wrong.

Stallone did not talk in the manner of Dredd, whilst Urban made a proper attempt at doing Dredd's "Clint Eastwood" style speech.

Stallone didn't know he was a clone (lazy attempt at adding drama)

"I knew you'd say that" is not Judge Dredd's catchphrase

"Double Whammy"

Flying Lawmaster

Rico was not sent to Titan and had no facial disfigurement

Dredd did not shoot off Mean Machine's arm, it was already absent

Fargo was still playing an active part in law

Judge Griffin acted nothing like Griffin, who was an honourable, no-nonsense guy

Judge McGruder looked and acted nothing like McGruder

Lawgiver's do not electrocute unrecognised users, they blow their hands off.

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Push comes to shove I would say that 1995 got the world of Dredd right, but all the characters completely wrong, whilst the 2012 film got all of the characters pretty much spot on but changed Mega-City One and made various other stylistic changes.

Humour wise 2012 nearly got it right, but there was not enough satire, 1995 got the satire right in two of three spots but the Rob Schneider humour was completely wrong, and distracting.

@silent_bomber: As one Dredd fan to another I appreciate the insight. Too often I think the 1995 film is dismissed, and for a lot of us stateside this was our first introduction to the character and it did a good job of showing us his world.

Its kind of OK, I don't hate it, but it has a lot of issues and it nearly put 2000AD out of business, taking years for them to recover.

Dredd 2012 may have been a box office flop, but sales of the comicbook actually rose as a result of it and 2000AD is healthier now than it has been in a very, very long time, public awareness of the character is also much better now IMO.

I get the feeling that most people prior to Dredd 2012 didn't even know Dredd was a comicbook character, back when 2012 was announced I was getting really annoyed by the number of people saying "why remake a bad Stallone movie?!"

@silent_bomber: I've never heard that the 1995 film nearly put 2000 A.D. out of business, I don't think I buy that since most of their readership is British and it's an anthology magazine. They didn't fund the movie either.

If 2000 A.D. fell on hard times in the mid nineties my guess other contributing factors were to blame. I mean, Judge Dredd the Megazine has been running for over 20 years straight through that period and I think it's even more expensive than 2000 A.D. From what I've read Dredd continued to be a flagship character through that time, which doesn't really lend itself some sort of movie backlash.

David Bishop-

"It was very exciting when they were making the film because we were thinking 'this is it, this going to be the moment it pays off.' And I remember the sinking feeling of going to see the first preview screening of the film in Britain. Its fine for the first 3 or 4 minutes, then Stallone appeared, got off the motorcycle and he said in his best Bronx/Inspector Clouseau "I am the law." There was another 85 minutes of watching a very slow car crash in front of us. We knew the film wasn't good, it wasn't going to be a hit, it wasn't going to be the great white knight that transformed the fortunes of the comic. Sales of the comic ended up being less after than before the film which is not what you want when someone has just spent $85 million promoting it. We actually took Judge Dredd off the cover for the next year. So it was the best of times, and then we saw the film, and it was the worst of times."

If you look at issues from ~96 Dredd has been moved to the back as well, Slaine was often the lead story at that time.

@silent_bomber: I guess that could true, I'm just very surprised by it. I'd imagined Judge Dredd as a character to be so well known and popular especially in Britain that it would be hard to believe once an American film comes out people moving away from the comic. Readers of 2000 A.D. should have been well aware of the differences. I think it could also be possible taking Dredd off the cover for a year sent the wrong message. 2000 A.D. persevered on the back of that strip and likely wouldn't have even made it to 1995 without him, to bury it in the back of the magazine and not put him on the cover may have been a mistake in it's own right.

In the U.S. the Punisher film starring Dolph Lundgen came out and was a complete failure. Sales of Punisher comics were never stronger after or since. I just don't understand why fans of a long running series would go away because of a movie, but I suppose that's a risk you may take when you sell the rights to properties you own.

That said, the first comic I ever read was Judge Dredd #2 from DC's 1994 volume. This was a series that existed in anticipation of the 1995 film. Ever since I read that comic I wanted to know more about Judge Dredd. I can't be the only person who became of fan of the character by somehow being introduced through that film.

After reading all the Dredd comics I can go back and enjoy that movie. I also still believe it to be closer to the source material. I think of Dredd 3D having more in common with the first Robocop film than anything else.