He's not as well-known a comic book creation as your Batmen or Iron Men, but Judge Dredd has been kicking around since his first appearance back in British comic 2000 AD thirty five years ago.  Now he's joining the likes of Batman, Hulk, Superman, and Spider-Man with his own reboot-y movie.  In the trailer below, you can see how this new take on Mega City One differs from the Blade Runner-inspired version in 1996's Judge Dredd, and how that reflects the overall change in tone.

There's a whole mess of slow-motion in this trailer, and Dredd actually makes it a component of the plot, as a drug called Slo-Mo that slows down time for the user is taking over Dredd's futuristic metropolis.  I'm not entirely sure what the appeal of such a drug would be, but at least the movie's attempting to not simply do super slow-motion for the sake of super slow-motion.

Check it out below, thanks to Machinima.

Okay, slo-mo aside, the story limits its scope by taking place entirely in a building controlled by drug lord Ma-Ma Madrigal, with Judges Dredd and Anderson trapped, surrounded by hostile forces looking to collect a bounty on their heads.  With no way out, these law enforcement officials must go up, battling their way to the top floor and taking out the seemingly untouchable crime lord who rules from on high.  The plot is very much familiar to anyone who saw Gareth Evans' incredible, ass-kicking Indonesian actioner The Raid, released in America as The Raid: Redemption earlier this year.  It's pretty much the same, but with the proportions jacked up.  Madrigal's announcement over the PA feels very, very similar to Tama's in The Raid.

Disregarding similarities to the movie you should see as soon as possible, Urban definitely looks like he's having a good time as Judge Joseph Dredd, and his scowl looks damn good under the helmet, which is helpful since we'll apparently never see his full face over the course of the movie, just like in the comics.  Lena Headey is also digging into the scarred, villainous Ma-Ma, while Olivia Thirlby very much looks the part of inexperienced rookie in over her head.

Pete Travis directs from a screenplay by producer Alex Garland, the novelist who wrote Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and Sunshine, as well as the massive Peter Jackson-produced Halo movie that never got made.

Pick up some Rogue 3D Eyewear in time for Dredd on September 21st.