The Judge: Homicide vs Cancer

Hello everybody! For this week’s new movie show, we have The Judge.

THE JUDGE

DIRECTOR: David Dobkin

STARRING: Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Billy Bob Thornton

GENRE: Drama

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States

Hank Palmer is a successful defense attorney in Chicago, who is getting a divorce. When His brother calls with the news that their mother has died, Hank returns to his childhood home to attend the funeral. Despite the brittle bond between Hank and the Judge, Hank must come to his father’s aid and defend him in court. Here, Hank discovers the truth behind the case, which binds together the dysfunctional family and reveals the struggles and secrecy of the family.

I went into the Judge believing that I was ready to sit down for a great film. What I saw was far less than spectacular. What can I do though? Robert Downy Jr. was great as the estranged son, it reminded me of many of his earlier roles. His character relationships with Robert Di Nero and the rest of his brothers was superb as well. I did like Billy Bob Thornton as opposing counsel, as the personal and professional relationship between Downy and Thornton make them perfect rivals.

Overall I decided that The Judge was a disappointment. I went into the film expecting to be blown away with the sheer amount of acting talent packed into the film, but I was let down. This is what happens when my expectations are too damn high during my first viewing. Robert Di Nero and Billy Bob Thornton disappointed me the most, as I felt their performances could have been much better. The film was quite lengthy as well, it could have been easily cut by at least 30 minutes. Don’t expect to find anything spectacular about the courtroom scenes either, as the scenes fall under the majority of courtroom tropes. But I digress.

PROS:

•  Robert Downy Jr. performance.
• RDJ nostalgia.
• Character relationships.
• Thornton vs RDJ

CONS:

•  Supporting cast performances.
• Film length
• Courtroom tropes.

SCORE: 6.0 / 10

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