Flip-Flopping Trailer for 'Dredd'

On the flip side: Trailer opens with very fresh visuals and strong sense of setting. Nice, considering it's mostly all been done before and it's tough to come up with an original look (See: Visual references to Blade Runner and other sci-fi standards in trailer for 'Total Recall').

One the flop side: Cool eye-candy doesn't cut it anymore (See 'John Carter').

Flip: Seems like a promising story -- Dredd tries to do something about a city addicted to a drug supplied by one person.

Flop: Potentially involving plot quickly devolves into an 'escape from a tower filled with armed bad guys trying to kill you' setup (See: The Raid).

Flip: Director Pete Travis manages to keep it visually interesting.

Flop: Travis is known for choppy throughline, as in 'Vantage Point', which was considered nearly impossible to follow and not worth the effort in any event.

Flip: Choppy throughline probably won't matter in a movie like 'Dredd'.

Flip: Writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go, Sunshine)

Flop: (I have not seen 'Never Let Me Go') but both '28 Days Later' and 'Sunshine' have pretty bad 3rd act issues in that plot devices are convenient, weak, and don't live up to the potential of Acts I and II.

Flip: As with choppy throughline, weak Act III plot devices probably won't matter in a movie like 'Dredd'.

Flop: Lines straight from the 80s like 'I'm the law' and 'It's judgment time'.

Flip: (Sigh) Probably won't matter in a movie like 'Dredd'...























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