An aging judge becomes empathic and decides to retire. By law, every judge that opts for retirement receives full honors and must leave Mega-City One to find a good death in the wastelands ruled by savage gangs, beasts and anarchy. Judge Minty is a not for profit fan film based on the world of the comic book character 'Judge Dredd'. It is an original work, following the tale of a secondary figure from the stories. Judge William Minty has spent his entire adult life policing the violent streets of Mega-City One and now he's slowing down. When a lapse of judgement almost ends his life, he knows that it's time to quit. He can choose to teach in the Academy, or he can leave the city and walk alone out into the anarchy of the Cursed Earth, taking law to the lawless. The world of Judge Dredd is not a happy one. This has been proved three times now - Judge Dredd (1995), Dredd (2012) & Hardware (1990). All of which display the same kind of dystopian society with the worst crime rates around and the only law enforcement around are Judges from the hall of justice. But the question is, did anyone ever think of what would happen when a judge loses his sense of right and wrong? This is what happens to the character of Judge William Minty.<br/><br/>Judge Minty is a veteran at the hall of judges and has served a long time on the crime-ridden streets of the old world. However, it is when he begins to wonder if he can change the people he fights by giving them second chances, that ends up making him unreliable. It is because of this, he is forced to leave and begin the long walk among the cursed earth. This is where things become interesting because so far in film (based on this particular comic), there hasn't been a story that focuses on judge that is forced to walk the cursed Earth.<br/><br/>For a short film, this plays out very strong. Everything from the production design to special effects is good for the budget that it had. Steven Sterlacchini's direction (as well as co-written screenplay) was well executed. The dialog is very thought provoking as well as disheartening because how relateable Judge Minty is a character. The actor who plays Minty, Edmund Dehn, is the reason why the role of Minty feels more human than most characters. Dehn isn't a Hollywood blockbusting actor. He's a normal man playing an unknown role. What makes him contrast to Judge Dredd is just how Dredd doesn't think about his actions. Dredd follows the law and that's it, no questions asked.<br/><br/>The music provided by Phil Oates was decent too. It did convey the right tones but perhaps not as much as I had expected. That's only because the material that Minty focused on is a touchy subject so I thought the music would have been the same too. But what makes this film stand out from others is that it focuses on the possibility of mending poisoned minds. Is it worth the time to help? Or is it easier just to do things the old fashioned way? Again, it's a short film so I'm not giving a full score but still, a very good film.<br/><br/>By shifting the focus to a more human level, Sterlacchini's extended play short film brings up some controversial questions and makes the viewer wonder if what is being done today is right or not, for the same issue. This short film, made by a set of fans, is a very pleasant surprise.<br/><br/>Don't expect shakiness and jerky camera work, this is actually very well put together with some great special effects. Granted it's obviously done on a very low budget, and it shows, but never denies to be otherwise. Despite that, it works very well without falling into a trap of B-movie unintended hilarity.<br/><br/>A fine lead by Edmund Dehn in this short and dark judgement story in the 2000AD world. The film is an exercise to bring out a short story from the Dredd franchise that would appeal to many without the need for elaborate sets & complicated stories.<br/><br/>It's a very good effort. With a bigger budget, support and time it could have been expanded to something greater but just bear in mind that this is a small scale product.<br/><br/>I liked it, and wish the producers of this all the best in the next efforts which I'll keep an eye out for.
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295 weeks ago