After the initial excitement about the project and subsequent stories about director Peter Travis finding himself locked out of the editing process, judgement day is finally looming for dystopian comic book sci-fi Dredd.

So here is the first trailer. And yes, Karl Urban does have a massive helmet (snigger).

That footage has had a mixed reaction. Common complaints include the bland realisation of Mega-City One being further away from the comics than even the Stallone movie.

Where are the colourful characters and sense of humour? Where is the pollution that has created mutation in some humans and animals? The comics were unique enough to have Anderson battling an alien who claimed to be Satan. Where the hell are the fatties?

If you took Urban’s helmet off would you even know this was a Judge Dredd adaptation from the visuals?

Maybe it’s too soon to call. The very early word on Dredd was promising, with the script by 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland attracting significant acclaim in online reviews. The project was rocked by damaging rumours last autumn, when it was reported that Garland had assumed control over the editing of the film, leaving director Travis out in the cold. But the buzz from those who have now seen the finished movie is that it’s turned out pretty well, even if it does suffer from having a similiar premise to uber-acclaimed actioner The Raid, where tough law-enforcers also fight their way up a crime-infested tower block.

Dredd is released on 21 September in the US and a fortnight earlier in the UK.

Source: Machinima