How Mega-City One Was Created In Dredd 3D
Although Dredd 3D has now come and gone from theaters, we still think it’s one of the best SF action-adventure films of 2012. Despite its low box office take, Dredd 3D will continue to dazzle audiences on Blu-ray/DVD. One of the cool things about Dredd 3D was the way it created a futuristic cityscape for the dystopian Mega-City one that still felt grounded in realism. Jon Thum served as the VFX Supervisor on Dredd 3D, and in a new video he explains why South Africa was chosen to be the template for Mega-City One. By combining Cape Town and Johannesburg as the prototypes for the futuristic city, the filmmakers gave audiences a sense of something foreign while being somewhat realistic and familiar.
Most of the CGI work in the film is seamless as the camera weaves in and out of action set pieces. The opening sequence from Dredd 3D alone is worth the price of admission, so it’s a real shame the film didn’t do better in theaters. A sequel would be great, but most likely it will never happen. At least until they get around to remaking it again in a decade or so.
One of the reasons why the original Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone couldn’t capture the imagination like its superior remake is because the 1995 version moved the action out of Mega-City One into the Cursed Earth. The film spent so little time in Mega-City One, which should’ve be the centerpiece rather than an afterthought.
