The Raid: Redemption vs Dredd

Time difference: 6 months

In March 2012 Sony Pictures Classics brought out the TIFF After Dark fan favourite The Raid, retitled The Raid: Redemption, for its U.S. theatrical release, while Lionsgate attempted to reboot the comic book character Judge Dredd into modern times with Pete Travis’ Dredd. While neither lit up the box office, audiences that did go to check out both films loved them, even if the films were near mirrors of each other. Each was about elite law enforcement personnel trapped in an apartment complex run by a drug lord, who must make their way up to the top as their way to escape. Of the two, The Raid has had the more impactful legacy, introducing audiences to action star Iko Uwais and Indonesia’s brand of action cinema with further films like Headshot and The Night Comes For Us.