Judge Minty

Nothing Short of *Fan*tastic!

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.

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 at twenty-seven minutes … I could have easily sat through another hour based on the framework already solidly laid down.

The story chronicles the retirement phase of one of the long standing judges of Mega-City One, Judge Minty(Edmund Dehn),a secondary figure to Judge Dredd 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 and 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 and visually stunning piece of film with limited resources.

I wasn’t a particularly moved by any of the previous Judge Dredd 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 “Dredd” films are known for. Best of all, it’s free, a “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.