Dredd 3D

In "Dredd," the future America is an irradiated wasteland. On its east coast, running from Boston to Washington, D.C., lies Mega City One—a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury, and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latent scourge, a dangerous drug called "Slo-Mo," and the sadistic crime boss Ma-Ma (Headey) who is using it to take over the city. (Gary Reber)

Special features include six featurettes: "Mega-City Masters: 35 Years Of Judge Dredd" (HD 14:27), "Day Of Chaos: The Visual Effects Of Dredd 3D" (HD 15:21), "Dredd" (HD 01:53), "Dredd's Gear" (HD 02:31), "The 3rd Dimension" (HD 02:00), and "Welcome To Peachtrees" (HD 02:33); a Dredd Motion Comic Prequel (HD 02:57); the theatrical trailer; upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p MVC 3D picture is engagingly surreal with its vivid cinematography inside and outside Peachtrees housing project. The color palette is naturally hued with strong saturation, though, at times is intentionally muted. Fleshtones are perfectly natural. The production design is striking, with vivid colors. Contrast is excellent with deep, solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation. Resolution is superb, with fine detail exhibited throughout in faces, hair, clothing, and object texture against CGI ambiance. The excellent resolution heightens the naturalness of the native 3D photography. 3D Lead Stereographer Vince Toto utilized two specially developed cameras to capture a truer 3D dimension during extreme close-ups of faces. Other CGI and ambiance images were accomplished with convergence and depth retrieval conversion by View D, Ltd. Dimensionality and perspective are impressively executed without unnatural use of negative parallax out-of-screen thrusts. In this regard, the imagery appears dimensionally natural, with people and objects exhibiting naturally formed volumes. The scale and scope of Peachtrees interiors, including the massive atrium and elevator shift, really convey dimension. This is a terrific 3D presentation that is artifact-free and stellar visually. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is credited as optimized for playback in DTS Neo: X 11.1 spherically surround. The sound is effectively holosonic® with aggressive directionalized soundfield immersion. The sonics are often tense and dynamic while contrasted with nuanced subtle atmospherics and Foley. Sound effects are powerful and aggressive. The .1 LFE channel is also aggressively used with deep, powerful sub-25 Hz bass effectively enforcing the carefully positioned sound effects, explosions, and gun fire. The rock and synthesized music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that aggressively permeates the surround channels. The impressive and incredible surround activity is further enhanced by the additional two channels, which provide a seamless 360-degree soundscape. The overall dynamic range is excellent, along with deep low-level bass ambiance that feels subsonic. Fidelity is excellent as well. Dialogue is intelligible, with effective spatial integration. This is an intense, adrenaline sonic experience that really puts one in the scenes. (Gary Reber)