X
- 2014
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 21 m
- 2014
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 21 m
Summary Big city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Robert Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.
Directed By: David Dobkin
Written By: Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque, David Dobkin
- 2014
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 21 m
- 2014
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 21 m
The Judge
48
7.1
Where to Watch
Summary Big city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Robert Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.
Directed By: David Dobkin
Written By: Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque, David Dobkin
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
48
31% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
54% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
15% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
48
31% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
54% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
15% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
Equal parts courtroom drama, legal thriller and family saga, it’s also a synchronized duet for two terrific actors at the top of their craft that left me stunned.
However unwieldy the final result, Dobkin and company deserve credit for helping Duvall and Downey create vibrant, dramatic characters that involve the performers in rousing, stem-winder ways.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 290 User Ratings
7.1
70% Positive
203 Ratings
203 Ratings
22% Mixed
65 Ratings
65 Ratings
8% Negative
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 290 User Ratings
7.1
70% Positive
203 Ratings
203 Ratings
22% Mixed
65 Ratings
65 Ratings
8% Negative
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
Сильнейшая и серьëзнейший фильм, без пау-пау, пиу-пиу, как в marvel, лучшая роль Роберта Дауни мл. без пафоса, кривляний, и комиксной клоунады
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Sure, these roles aren't exactly a stretch, with Duvall being crotchety and Downey being sharp-witted. But that familiarity is part of the appeal. They're good at this. Really good. After all, as has been noted, they're not movie stars for nothing.
In The Judge, a legal drama that builds to the requisite Hollywood Dark Night of the Soul, Robert Downey Jr. has a role so far inside his comfort zone that the movie has no drive, no urgency.
The Judge is watchable but thoroughly specious. It’s dull and reassuring, an infantile fantasy of homecoming and forgiveness set in a mythical version of America no one in the target audience has ever seen.
The Judge is a timeless film, in that it could have been made at almost any point over the past 80 years: rote plot, functional support, well-signalled twists. It’s a two-seater star vehicle offering little legroom for other passengers.
One long trial of moral duty, and one that excuses repugnant behavior and psychological warfare in lieu of a repetitive, condescending sermon on honoring thy father.
Despite the critics’ complaints about clichés, The Judge keeps the action moving and manages to entertain. It was an Oscar-nomination vehicle for Robert Duvall in the title role, who roared through the script so that even his clichéd lines sounded like originals when spoken by such a legendary actor. However, the film was a disappointment for Robert Downey, Jr. in the role of the sharp, city-slicker lawyer, Hank Palmer. Downey has told the press that he covets an Oscar, and this was the first attempt from the ma & pa production company with the unlikely name “Team Downey” to get him a nomination.
Although Downey has his moments, there is still more than a hint of the Iron Man persona lurking underneath the attorney's expensive suit and designer sunglasses. Downey is still magnificent to behold with his intensity and his sensitive dark eyes as he deals with a father who is so stubborn that he is self-destructive. And his character's questionable ethics as a brilliant lawyer who can get anyone to walk suits his problematic personality. (He is his usual hyperactive self in the film, which is written into the script when his ex-girlfriend says he talks continuously “like vomit.”) When accused of only defending the guilty, Downey’s best line is, “Innocent people can’t afford me.”
A surprisingly effective performance pops up in the form of Billy Bob Thornton, who plays Dwight ****, a steely lawyer with an ax to grind, and even when he sees his enemy defeated and broken down in tears, his sense of humanity, which arises only for a moment, is quickly suppressed. There are some philosophical thoughts about the nature of justice buried in the script, but many weak areas prevail. Hank Palmer has two brothers. The older brother (Vincent D’Onofrio) seems to bear no relation to him; the younger brother (Jeremy Strong) is autistic but the autistic personality is not consistently portrayed.
Much to my amusement, Downey has a few love scenes in this film, and he actually has a scene with an onscreen wife. Of course, the only reason he appeared with a wife was to make it clear that they hated each other and were definitely getting a divorce. His love scene with the young bartender (Leighton Meester) shows them kissing only briefly, and it’s a long shot. The more complicated kissing scenes with his hometown ex-girlfriend (Vera Farmiga) look a little stiff and uncomfortable. So I had to smile when Farmiga remarked in an interview that producer Susan Downey was on the set the whole time, and that Farmiga kept looking over to Mrs. Downey for approval because, after all, Susan Downey kisses her husband all the time. So that explains the robotic moves. Farmiga is a great actress; it’s hard to make her look wooden.
I suspect that if Robert Downey wants an Oscar nomination, he should issue an edict announcing that the producer isn’t allowed on the set.
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Very watchable, interesting plot but a bit too long. Downey is great, Duvall acts well as a horrible control freak. I didn't like the other characters at all. The film eloquently demonstrates just how dysfunctional America has become.
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I think Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times gave the most accurate review. To me as an average moviegoer it seemed as if this was two movies, sandwiched together to make a one big and a bit too long one. One could have been the family stuff, school boyfriend girlfriend relationship, uncertain children, a big brother's broken career, the accident that caused it, and the final **** the second movie about the judge who was a harsh father, very strict as far as the laws go, but now has a severe illness not told to anyone, and on the top of all that, is now accused of murder, and needs his alienated son (or any lawyer, for that matter) to defend him properly.
The acting is great, and one cannot say anything negative about Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. who delivered great performances as is expected from these two veterans. The movie is filmed in Massachusetts and not the fictional Southern Indiana redneck town of Carlinsville which does not even exist. Although there is actually a Carlinsville, Illinois, which is just about as charming as its fictitious twin in Indiana. One thing I can assure you, there is no owner/waitress in any diner in Carlinsville (fictitious or real) that looks anything like gorgeous Vera Farminga and her daughter in the movie...I swear by it...!
Save your money and watch the movie when it comes out in the Red Box for a dollar a **** enjoy the popcorn!
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I saw this at TIFF and I've had a month to process. The bad reviews by the critics really do say it all and the good reviews highlight how the meta critic system can be flawed. Rex reed gave this move 4 stars so it gets 100 here, that doesn't seem right. I don't believe for a second that anyone honestly feels this is a perfect movie.
Its far from being a terrible movie but its got more cliches per square inch than anything I've ever seen. Writing a character that is described as "big city lawyer" should be up there with villains twirling their long mustaches to show they are evil in this day and age. it also has an industrial heart string pulling machine in it because they try for everything. Here are some of the things that the film makers hope you can identify with:
Strained relationship with a parent
Cancer
Dead mom
Funerals!
Small town living
Regrets from being an out of control teen
None of it really matters because its star power that drives this ship and for the past month I've been hearing and reading people basically going nuts for RDJ. OMG I love RDJ, he is the best... why is Ironman in court? its Tony Stark goes to Washington I'm totally going to watch it. Please don't get me wrong, he is awesome as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Maybe I don't watch enough "big" movies and I'm holding it to an unrealistic standard but it just keeps going through my head that so much money and effort when into making everything look great but in the end its such an uninspired forgettable movie. Its like you are in France and go the the best cafe expecting the best coffee and crescent of your life but you get a coke with a twinkie. Its Coke made with real sugar and they put it in a glass and the twinkie on a plate but that doesn't change what it is.
I think the movie is going to do alright in theaters and very well as burned DVDs for grandparents
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Production Company
Warner Bros.,
Big Kid Pictures,
Team Downey,
Village Roadshow Pictures
Release Date Oct 10, 2014
Duration 2 h 21 m
Rating R
Tagline Defend your Honor.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 2 Nominations
