Movie Throwdown! - The Raid: Redemption vs. Dredd Part 2

Well, here is the rest of my match-up between The Raid: Redemption and Dredd.

SETTING

Next up is a small one: the setting. The Raid takes in present-day Jakarta. We’re pretty much stuck in a 15-story building. We don’t see much of the outside world other than a couple of stuff at the beginning. After Rama’s intro, we’re thrown right into the mission. We also find out that Jakarta has a pretty bad problem with corruption. As for Dredd, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States. It’s a wasteland (insert random Trump joke here) and all that’s left is Mega-City One on the Eastern Coast. Since it’s crap, the Judges are there to do what they can. We also got mutants and sometimes they don’t come out pretty like Judge Anderson.

The setting that appealed to me the most was Dredd’s. Even though we don’t get much, a lot of the city is detailed through dialogue. The city itself looks interesting since you got all of these large towers standing everywhere. Even Peach Trees had some interesting stuff in it. The Raid doesn’t get this since the mission is pretty much the thing in the movie. So, this point is going to Dredd.

The Raid – 1

Dredd – 2

Movie Throwdown! - The Raid: Redemption vs. Dredd Part 1

Today’s two post are about something I’ve had my mind on for a while now. In 2011, The Raid: Redemption was released. It’s about an Indonesian SWAT team that’s trapped in a building run by a dangerous gangster. Butts are kicked, shots are fired aplenty, and a lotta folk die. In 2012, Dredd, based off of 2000AD's Judge Dredd, was released in theatres. The movie is about how two law officers (Judges) get trapped in a district (Mega-Block) ran by a dangerous gangster. Shots are fired aplenty and a lotta folk die.

If these two movies sound familiar, then you’re not the only one who thinks that. It’s kind of unclear if the creators got ideas from each other or if it’s just a coincidence. It’s not like the plots for these movies are original, so it doesn’t really matter in the end. Just know that they are both good films in their respective rights. They’re up there with some of the best in their genres. Still, which one is better? I know there are some folk out there that have done this, but I think it’s time to add my voice to “The Raid vs. Dredd” debate.

Before I get to the match-ups, here is a general overview of both movies:

• The Raid: Redemption – The Raid takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia. It follows a Special Forces unit as they are tasked with conducting a raid on an apartment block. Their goal is to take out Tama, the head gangster over the block. Of course, things go bad when Tama finds out they’re coming and unleashes the whole block which is full of a lot of criminals. Rama, a rookie cop, and the rest of the team do their best to survive in the block and meet their objective. Rama also has a personal reason for being there since his brother is in Tama’s gang.
• Dredd – Dredd takes place in a dystopic, futuristic metropolis called Mega City-One. The Judges are the law of the town and enact swift justice on criminals. We end up following Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and a rookie named Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirbly). They’re tasked to find out about a new drug that’s hit the street. When they make it to Peach Trees, a 30-story tower, they run into trouble. Gangster Madeline Mardgril, aka Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), finds out about them, locks down the tower, and sends the lowlifes after them. Dredd and Anderson must use their weapons and abilities (Anderson’s a mutant) in order to survive and enact justice on Ma-Ma.