Dredd (2012)

Pete Travis' Dredd (US, 2012) - Grim, gritty and ultra-violent, "Dredd" reinstates the somber brutality missing from the U.K. comicbook icon's previous screen outing, the disappointing 1995 Sylvester Stallone starrer "Judge Dredd." A reboot as drastic as Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," this hard-R, sci-fi actioner from director Pete Travis and screenwriter Alex Garland should find an appreciative audience among serious-minded fanboys and gorehounds, while the pic's more extreme elements will likely limit its potential of crossing over to the superhero mainstream when Lionsgate releases it domestically Sept. 21. 2012TOR. RATING: 7