THIS execrable futurist fantasy lacks plot, acting merit, message or filmic quality.

Later this century, from Boston to Washington DC, a continuous conurbation once home to 800 million people is now wreckage. Society has little to feel comfortable about. Users of the drug Slo-Mo experience a reduction in the speed of reality.

Police have on-the-spot investigative, judicial and punishment authority. Today officer Dredd is taking newbie Anderson to evaluate her suitability for permanent employment. Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is independent to a fault, refusing to wear the helmet that makes all cops look the same (that later becomes a plot issue). Her prime asset is her psychic ability. If she can see you, she knows what you are thinking.

Their beat is the 200-storey building where ex-prostitute Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) runs a team of hoodlums trying to seize a monopoly in the Slo-Mo market.

There’s much same-old-same-old before Dredd and Anderson finish their shift.. The film’s best ongoing part is Ma-Ma’s malevolence. Its best moment comes when Dredd throws her down the airshaft from the 200th floor to go splat on the concrete. Enjoy?

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight