You're a piece of work, Dredd.
Deadpool is hardly Hollywood's first run at making a big hit out of an R-rated comic-book movie, but it's by far the most successful, breaking all kinds of records in its opening weekend. Another recent attempt that came up short in that regard is 2012's Dredd, which had the unenviable task of trying to get people to forget the compromised Sylvester Stallone-starring Judge Dredd from 1995 and take it on its own terms. In spite of the best efforts of director Pete Travis, screenwriter Alex Garland, and actor Karl Urban, who kept his promise to stay true to the character by keeping his helmet on for the whole movie, Dredd failed to attract enough of an audience to warrant a sequel, although there's nothing stopping somebody from trying again in a few years.
Per the title character's terse opening narration, the film is set within the walls of Mega City One, which stretches from Boston to Washington, D.C., and shields 800 million residents from the post-apocalyptic wasteland outside. Things are very survival-of-the-fittest on the inside as well, which is why upholding the law is left to roving Judges like the grim Dredd, who's assigned to assess a rookie by the name of Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) whose psychic powers could make her an asset to the department -- if she manages to survive her first day in the field. That's far from a guarantee, though, when they respond to a call at the crime-ridden Peach Trees tower, which just so happens to be the production base for Slo-Mo, a powerful new narcotic that dramatically slows down time for its users, and the cornerstone of the ruthless Ma-Ma's (Lena Headey) drug empire. When Ma-Ma locks down the block with the aid of her harried Techie (Domhnall Gleeson) and broadcasts to its 75,000 residents that she doesn't want Dredd or Anderson to make it out alive, that puts the two of them in what might be called a spot, but it's one they're uniquely capable of getting out of if they manage to keep their heads.
In addition to nailing the look of the comic's unforgiving world and the cadence of its unyielding characters, the main thing Garland and Travis do right is keep exposition to a bare minimum, allowing them to tell a complete story in about 90 minutes. Plus, their Dredd is a known quantity, feared and respected by all who matter in Mega City One, so there's no need to waste any time building him up or having him dredge up events from his past. Besides, his actions speak louder than his words ever could.