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. I admit, there are far too many short films that I never seem to have the time to watch, between all of the feature length films, indie flicks & television series there is little room left. After catching this inspiring fan film "Judge Minty" I have made a vow to make some time in the future to ensure that I don't miss out on gems like this. <br/><br/>Oddly enough, what drew me in like a moth to a flame was the poster art, the rickety wooden sign exclaiming "NO LAW 2000 Miles". I didn't even check the runtime or plot summary, just went straight into it. The only drawback I found while watching was the unfortunate end. I could have easily sat through another hour based on the framework already laid down.<br/><br/>The story chronicles the retirement phase of one of the long standing judges of Mega-City, Judge Minty(Edmund Dehn),a secondary figure to Judge Dread from the comic book series. After an incident of slight indecision in the field almost cost him his life, he is given a choice where he can either live out his days teaching at the Academy or he can leave the city and walk alone, out into the lawless anarchy of Cursed Earth, most commonly referred to as "the long walk", a perilous journey in which he will live out the remainder of his days battling lawlessness in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of cursed Earth. A place teeming with dangerous threats & great evils, ranging from sub-human beings with the power of telekinesis, to savage creatures who have the ability to go unseen to the naked eye(Predator nod). And of course not to forget the man who made all of this come together so well, writer/director Steven Sterlacchini, way to go in making a very entertaining & visually stunning piece of film with limited resources.<br/><br/>I wasn't a particularly moved by any of the previous Judge Dread films, but this seems to carry more of a message than its predecessors, to go along with the uber-violent, chaotic action sequences that the "Dread" films carry. Best of all, it's FREE, a "for non-profit film" which is now available on youtube and various other streaming sites. So if you happen to have a half-hour to kill, this is undoubtedly a very cool way to burn it. -^-8.5/10-^- Just how did these guys, with no doubt a very tight budget and limited resources get it so right when two Hollywood efforts got it wrong (so wrong with Stallones version)? I think the reason is that they know and love the characters, history and idea behind Judge Dredd and his world, they did not compromise when it came to the basics, like the uniforms, the bikes and the city (admittedly a very big basic). <br/><br/>Judge Minty is a character from Dredd's past, and I remember reading his story many years ago in 2000AD, I also remember wishing someone would make a film or TV series about Dredd and the world he inhabits, Stallones film was dire, Urban at least understood the character but this short film leaves both previous films for dead, you would have forgiven the makers if they had shot the entire thing in the Cursed Earth, but no, the first part of the film is based in Mega City 1, and the visuals are excellent, the action outside the city walls shows the desolation of the cursed Earth and highlights the vulnerability of even a experienced Mega city lawman, he is on his own. I give this 9/10. like others have pointed out, this films Judge Dredd is in urgent need of a chin, other than that small niggle I can't and will not fault it.<br/><br/>Hollywood, watch and learn.
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327 weeks ago