This Judge won’t take off his helmet

In the film Dredd 3D, actor Karl Urban plays a futuristic crime-fighting judge, who hides his identity behind a helmet.

You might remember the iconic comic book character of Judge Dredd, a futuristic lawman who fights crime in a world gone chaotic, from the movie of the same name that came out in 1995, in which the titular role was played by actor Sylvester Stallone.. The film couldn’t find mainstream appeal and was a critical failure because a number of elements were altered from the comic book series. Fan boys were mainly disappointed due to Dredd taking off his helmet and revealing his face in the film, which had never happened in the comics.

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But now, fans have a reason to cheer, as in the film, Dredd 3D, which released in India yesterday, the Judge hides his identity throughout the film and not once takes off his helmet. As to keeping this element of the comics intact, actor Karl Urban, who plays the lead character in the gritty and dark vesrions as compared to its earlier one, says, “One of the great aspects of Dredd is that you never fully see his identity. Since he was created in 1977, he was the faceless representation of the law and an enigma and to do anything else just wouldn’t have been Dredd.” As to what attracted him to the role, 40-year-old Urban says, “I was pretty enamoured with the character of Dredd, as I was already a fan of sci-fi. He is this hardcore, futuristic lawman, the ultimate lawman in a society where the normal process of justice has changed. There are no more juries and lawyers and protracted legal system, it has all be condensed into one man. Since that age, I’ve always loved a vigilante-type character and Judge Dredd is one of the best.”