Her name is Anderson, and in the cold future where the world lives in a state of overpopulation, she, along with her mentor take on the city’s most powerful gang. Her mentor? Judge Dredd.
Today’s Women Who Wow Wednesday series is proud to add Dredd’s Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to the list of powerful female characters worthy of example.
In the dystopian nightmare called the future, police have the power to act as judge, jury and executioner. Sentences are swift. Judgment is permanent. Among the officers, Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) emerges as the de facto force of reckoning. With him, a young woman, top in her class, the youngest potential judge the Department of Justice has ever seen, accompanies Dredd for a training day of sorts.
The ultraviolent society is their playground. The insane-riddled criminals are their toys.
They move to collect a witness residing in a city block overrun by the neighborhood’s most ruthless overlord who will stop at nothing to protect her turf. Dredd and Anderson vs. Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
It should have been easy—walk in, grab the punk, and walk out. In the midst of their assault, Judge Dredd and Anderson meet with resistance. From then on, it becomes a game of survival and escape once Ma-Ma orders a lockdown of the whole block.
The wild card? Anderson. There’s more to the young trainee than the thugs had bargained for. She doesn’t need weapons or a rulebook. She’s lethal without the help of anyone other than her ability to make her will a reality.
Although the leather-suited Anderson may sport a tough exterior, she retains a soft heart. When confronted with the inevitable decision to take her first life, under the tutelage of Judge Dredd, she has to render judgment regardless of what she feels for those facing their potential execution. Adding to the young judge’s allure is her striking beauty. Golden locks, big doe eyes, a porcelain complexion, and the build that would make any reasonable guy perform a double take.
Despite the viciousness of her later attacks, and prior to unleashing her irrevocable judgment on criminals, she attempts to find a fair and equitable solution for everyone involved. Spare a life, spare a generation. The gangsters have other ideas. The only fair and equitable solution for them is seeing Dredd and Anderson’s bodies thrown off the side of their building after a lengthy torture session.
In the end, what will matter is the quelling of the criminals and their unavoidable destiny in the hands of Judge Anderson.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.
What did you think of Olivia Thirlby in her role as Dredd’s trainee, Anderson?
Looking to God 
hello jack flacco its dennis the vizsla dog hay dada watchd this moovee on the netflix wun time wile mama wuz otherwise engaydjd and he sed it wuz fantastik!!! his fayvrit seen wuz wen anderson had to deeside wot to do with the man with the funny eyes!!! altho he did also menshun sum fun stuf involving a very very very very very very lardj masheen gun!!! ok bye
Anderson does rock. She is one of my favourite Judges.
Jack I am so glad you chose Cassandra Anderson. I loved her in the comic books as the heart of the justice department and I think Olivia Thirlby nailed the part perfectly.
Lena Headey is marvellous as Ma-ma too.
What an excellent choice. The film is a good rendition of the comic (not the Stalone version, forget that one.) However, I thought the portrayal of Anderson was not as tough as the comic versions in which she was quite uncompromising.
But on its own merits the film is well worth buying and Thurlby’s portrayal was definitely not overshadowed by Karl Urban’s superb Dredd.
Agreed, she did a fantastic job with her character. Loved how she balanced the hard-edged traits with her softer side.
This sounds great. I have never seen this movie before but I found it on Amazon Prime and it’s now on my TV. Thank you. 🙂
Sandi, the only thing about the movie is it’s ultra-violent setting. If you can handle it, then I’d recommend it without hesitation!
I did notice that yes. I was thinking, “Jack, you didn’t mention this was not the sort of movie to watch while eating one’s lunch.” lol But I did enjoy it, despite the violence (Slo-Mo is rather … effective, that way).
Great post. I did’nt see the movie and I might add the name Olivia seems to be magic when it comes to great character portrayal.
FYI, Dredd (2012 version of Judge Dredd) is on Neflix streaming right now…thanks for another great post, Jack!
Firstly if you havent seen Dredd then get thee to one of them places that doth sell such items. Secondly Thirlby was fantastic as Cassandra Anderson. It would be such a shame to not see her in the movie’s possible sequel. Mind you having said that, I believe that the plan for a possible sequel will involve Dredd and Cursed Earth and be more of a origin story. Anderson is one of my favourite Judges.
I must’ve missed out. The only Judge Dredd that I remember had Sly Stallone in the title role.
I really need to see this movie. Kept hoping it would show up on premium channels, but nothing. I never even heard of when it went on DVD. So I can’t really have an opinion on her.
I remember Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stallone, but Karl Urban rings no bells in the attic of my memory.
It was a year or two ago. They based it closer to the darker, grittier comic books. I heard it was good, but the horror of the first movie did it in. Especially since TV stations kept playing the Stallone one, which made people think the same was going to happen.
It zipped over my head, then. I’d rather catch the RoboCop remake, if I had to choose between the 2.
Dredd got positive reviews, but it was a limited release. As for the RoboCop remake . . . don’t pay money for it. I don’t think they did the original any justice. At least Dredd went with the source material from what I read.
I think I’d only watch the RoboCop re – make because Samuel L. Jackson can make almost ANYTHING better.
I’m starting to wonder if he’s determined to be in the Guinness Book of Records for most movie roles in history. He’s great, but it does seem like he’ll take just about anything handed to him.
Keeping his face in the public eye. Remember the adage that there’s ” no such thing as bad publicity ( Almost ) “.
Yeah . . . that saying has given me a headache with a few fellow authors lately. It’s amazing how many people think that means stuff like fighting with negative reviewers is helpful.
I sometimes wonder if by making woman tough we have also made them vulnerable. They hit and know the martial arts and therefore some men hit back. This is now a problem in society. Men hitting women. It is complicated.