Judge Minty is a 2013 short Fan Film based on the Judge Dredd comicbooks. It follows the story of Judge Minty, an elderly street Judge who was the first lawman to head out into the Cursed Earth beyond Mega City One to bring law to the desolate region as his final mission. The film expands on Minty's story and shows how he runs into and battles a gang of Cursed Earth outlaws.
This film provides examples of:
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Aquila, the leader of the Cursed Earth outlaws, is by far the most dangerous member due to his vast telekinetic powers, which is presumably also the reason why he's in charge in the first place. When the rest of his gang is quickly picked off by the lizard creatures, he initially manages to hold them off repeatedly before numbers take their toll.
- Avenging the Villain: Minty shoots a female gang member, although he regrets it due to her young age. When Aquila finds the woman's body he goes completely berserk and out for revenge against Minty, implying that Aquila and the woman were lovers.
- Bad Boss: Minty shoots an explosive round at Aquila, who telekinetically diverts it into the head of one of his minions.
- Bond One-Liner: After Minty kills the last member of the gang, who tried to beg his way out.Gang member: I had no choice!Judge Minty: [*BANG*] ...Me neither.
- Book Ends: The film opens with Minty almost getting killed on the streets by trying to grant a member of the Kovaks mob mercy and getting pulled off active duty by Dredd. At the end of the short, he finds himself in the same situation when a Cursed Earth dweller begs for mercy, which Minty denies him.
- Creator Cameo: Greg Staples, one of Dredd's artists, appears as Joe Dredd himself when Minty is decommissioned in the hospital.
- Dead Guy on Display: Not far outside Megacity One, Minty finds a skull inside a Judge helmet mounted on a board reading NO LAW 2000 MILES. At the end of the movie, he changes the sign to read JUSTICE 2000 MILES.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Early on, Minty tries to grant mercy to a member of the Kovaks gang who opened fire on him (which carries an instant death sentence in the Dredd universe), only to get shot for his trouble. He doesn't make the same mistake at the end of the film.
- Inherent in the System: Minty has started to question the Black-and-White Morality of the Judge system, thinking that maybe showing kindness and mercy might be a better way. But even when he's the only law for 2000 miles, he still has no other recourse available to him other than execution.
- It's What I Do: After he's taken off street duty, Minty is given the option of honorable retirement as an instructor. But he's been a Judge too long to be anything else, so chooses the Long Walk instead.
- Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Reconstructed. After decades as a street Judge, Minty has seen so much brutal repression and death that he tries out being merciful for once, but the setting is unfortunately too Crapsack for such a philosophy. He becomes a determined lawman again by the end of the film.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Several of the vicious Cursed Earth dwellers (with some Apunkalypse flavor thrown in), particularly their leader Aquila, who always wears a hockey mask adorned with feathers.
- Mind over Matter: Aquila, the masked leader of the outlaws, can use telekinesis to throw around multiple objects with ease. He later uses it to defend himself from the monitor-like lizards.
- Outfit Decoy: Minty kills two overexcited gang members by using his gear as a decoy.
- Real Is Brown: The film has a very dull, somber grey Color Wash.
- Samus Is a Girl: After Minty kills a masked gang member, he finds out to his dismay that it was a girl of about 20.
- Series Continuity Error: Minty wields a Mark II Lawgiver around twenty years early.
- Villains Want Mercy: The last member of the outlaws begs Minty to spare his life, claiming that the gang leader forced him into it. Subverted when Minty dispatches him anyway.
