Opening Analysis | Dredd

Dredd is a Sci-Fi and Action movie directed by Pete Travis in 2012. It is set in a violent, futurist city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner. The narrative follows Dredd as he aims to take down a gang within one of the many mega block flats who supply a reality altering drug: SLO-MO.

The film opens with four titles. Coloured red, the font used is very bold and large, the names of the production company significantly large than the connectives. The order of appearance is as follows: 'Lionsgate', 'Reliance Entertainment', 'Im Global' and 'DNA Films'. Lionsgate is easily the most well-know company above, hence why they appear first. The others, while not as notable, are still important and most likely would have invested in the picture. This movie, being directed by a mostly unknown director with a tiny amount of money in comparison with other films, does not feature the names of the actors or producers, etc as they would not be famous enough to gain interest from the audience. It stars no big actors or directors, and placing their name during the opening titles would only increase the length of the titles, with no positive reaction from the audience as they would most likely not be aware of who those people were. It is also important to note that the font appears very slightly saturated in colour, linking to the connotations of the movie taking place in a grimy, despotic future.

The first shot of the movie is an extreme long-shot, a city looming on the horizon, above an empty, barren wasteland below. The shot is mainly used for exposition, linking with the diegetic monologue taking place, however, it does offer some connotations of the themes of the movies. The fact the city is on the horizon could suggest that this future will be the same for the audience soon. This makes the whole film seem more plausible, it gives the audience the idea that is setting could be reality soon, which increases the realism and therefore tension throughout the picture. The shot also demonstrates the gritty, dirty aesthetic of the movie. A massive grey cloud can be seen floating above the city, which stretches from one end of the shot to the other. This gives a sense of pollution; the massive man-made structures above the 'nature' of the wasteland below, and the large cloud centred just above the city imply that the city has uncomfortable living conditions and, overall, is a grimy place. This links back to the overall tone of the movie being gritty and exposes the audience to this right from the start. The idea of pollution is also shown by a dense, yellowy fog layer obscuring the details of the city (it is seem more apparently in following shots). The also connects to the idea of dirty, gritty connotations of the movie.

The following shots are similar in effect, firstly focusing on the wasteland and the barren, isolated and empty feeling of it, (which could possibly link to the protagonists position in the film's setting, being a police officer in a city full of rioting and violence). The shot then pans up to reveal the stained bordering city walls and the tall mega-structures of the city. The fact it pans up, again, could suggest that this future is slowly creeping up on the audience, increasing the realism and tension of the movie. The movie continues with shots like this, connotative fodder for the monologue, the images all appearing with that yellow fog mention earlier and with slightly saturated colour, all linking to the dirty atmosphere of the movie.

A later shot is a POV of what appears to be some sort of flying drone. Layered over the shot is computerized imagery and centered is a long-shot of hundreds of small, slum-like houses, with dust clouds bellowing from the streets. The computerized imagery and the drone give the audience a strong connection to the Sci-fi genre, where they begin to understand the apocalyptic future the film takes place in. The slum housing and the dust clouds link back to the dirty connotations mentioned earlier, it gives the impression of poverty which, combined with the realism the movie creates, increases the tension greatly.

The film then employs cross-cutting to increase the tension. After the previous shot, the movies cuts to a close up of Dredd's arm, where the audience can see him wrapping a bandage around his fist. This whole shot provides significant information into the connotations and themes of the movie. The fact he is wrapping a bandage around his fist speaks volumes about the violent action that will be present within the movie, and also links to the gritty connotations mentioned earlier. Dredd also clenches his fist at the end of this shot, further linking to the action genre, and the gritty, violent connotations.

The film then cuts back to a high-angle shot of people rioting in the streets, throwing rocks and stones towards the city's bordering wall. The use of the high-angle makes the rioters seem more powerful or deadly, which makes the fight between the protagonist and these people seem a more difficult struggle, increasing the tension. The shot also includes the yellow fog and saturation for similar reasons as earlier. The movie then cuts back to a close up from behind Dredd as he places a jacket over his shoulder. The effect of this cross-cutting is almost what you would expect from a montage, the shots of violence combined with the gritty connotative shots of Dredd build up suspense in the audience, it makes them eager to see how these two powerful forces will clash. The following shots of the rioters are also clever. On both you cannot see the edge or end of the rioters, which leaves the scale of the violent protests to the audience's imagination, were they usually envision a much large scale of force, heightening the danger of the crowd. Layered over these shots are images you would see on a news program, which would increase the realism, and also the computerized imagery as mentioned earlier, linking back to the Sci-Fi genre.

An extreme-long shot after this emphasises the power of the protagonist's size, just to draw a comparison with the rioters, making both forces seem very powerful, which leaves the audience expecting an exciting battle. The shot has to pan up from the bottom of the tower to reveal the top, which is shot at a high-angle, making the building seem much more intimidating and therefore the police force far more intimidating. Also in the shot are no other tall buildings, which greatly emphasises the size of the tower in shot.

The title of the film appears at the very end of the opening, speedily moving towards the audience as debris flies away from it. The velocity and the debris during the title all link to connotations of the Action genre, engaging the target-audience.

During the opening, non-diegetic is also played. The song itself feels very industrial and heavy, featuring loud, metallic sounding drums. The heaviness and the type of noise it makes relates strongly to the Action genre. The song feels like it could be used in a big fight between two strong forces, similar to the ideas that the opening implies. It also feels very unnatural or robotic, possibly linking to the wasteland world of the movie, which, as mentioned earlier, seems to have very little organic life and seems polluted and dirty, ideas that are conveyed through the music. It also matches the rioting action sequences as well as working as good build up music during the 'montage' cross-cutting sequence, increasing the tension.

Overall, the opening of this movie is intended to hype up the audience. They are given context into the violent dystopia of this future, as well as the major powers in this world (which are built up greatly throughout the opening). It leaves the audience anticipating more, which any good opening should hope to achieve, all through the use of media techniques.

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