Dredd vs. The Raid

Dredd vs. The Raid

This article is going to compare and contrast The Raid and Dredd. I preferred Dredd but quite liked both films. While the two movies were released the same year and had a lot in common, there are also some big differences.

Similarities:
- Released in the USA in 2012.
- Violent R-rated contained action films that take place in a locked down apartment building.
- The protagonists are lawmen who must fight their way to the top of said apartment complex (with some help) to take down the crime lord in charge of the criminal operation.
- Both protagonists are able to convince civilians to let them seek refuge in a room.
- The villains in both films kill some of their own henchmen.
- The Raid features corrupt policemen while Dredd has corrupt Judges.
- Both films were released with unnecessary subtitles, The Raid: Redemption and Dredd: 3D.
- Prior to Dredd, director Pete Travis had made two feature length movies: Vantage Point (2008) and Endgame (2009). Prior to The Raid, director Gareth Evans had made two feature length movies: Footsteps (2006) and Merantau (2009).

Differences:
- Dredd is an English language US/UK production that was also filmed in South Africa. The Raid is an Indonesian language film made in Indonesia.
- The Raid is a martial arts movie. Dredd is not, though it does feature some hand-to-hand combat.
- Dredd is based on the long running Judge Dredd comic book franchise. The first attempt at bringing Judge Dredd to film was Judge Dredd (1995) starring Sylvester Stallone. The Raid is a brand new story not based on any pre-existing media.
- The only female character I remember in The Raid was Rama's pregnant wife. In Dredd both the main villain and Judge Dredd's partner Anderson are women.
- Dredd takes places in the future while The Raid is set in the present.
- The Raid will have a sequel, The Raid 2: Berandal, which will be released later in 2014. There are no current plans for a Dredd sequel, so buy the Blu-ray if you haven't yet to support the cause!
- Dredd features actors Lena Headey and Karl Urban who previously appeared in the international blockbusters 300 (2007) and Star Trek (2009). The actors in The Raid are unknown outside of Indonesia.
- According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Dredd had a $50 million production budget and made $35 million worldwide in theaters. It was considered a commercial failure but would later make back a lot of money thanks to DVD/Blu-ray sales from good word of mouth. The Raid had an estimated $1.1 million budget and grossed $15 million globally.

Are there any similarities or differences that I missed? If so, let me know in the comments section.