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The Judge (2014)

thereviewers
May 3, 2015
2 min read

The Judge unfolds when Chicago lawyer, Hank Palmer (Robert Downey JR), returns to his childhood home to defend his father, the town’s judge, who is suspected of murder. While, Hank sets out to discover the truth he soon reconnects with his estranged family.

Overall Review Score

8.5 out of 10

Review

The Judge is a 2014 legal drama that focuses equally on the law and the relationship between a father and son who have disconnected over many years of disagreements. The Judge features a strong cast including Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga and Vincent D’Onofrio. The director David Dobkin carefully matches the scenes to the films score to create suspense and heart-wrenching tension in the right places. Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall feed off each other in every scene and it is easy to understand why Robert Duvall received multiple award nominations for his portrayal of Judge Joseph Palmer, based on their on-screen chemistry. Overall, The Judge is a good film that will have audiences wondering what twist or turn will happen next, what the ultimate outcome will be and whether or not Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr) will ever copy his father and become a judge. The final scenes of the film will take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster and will make up for the slowness and formulaic nature certain scenes have.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 9 out of 10

Comments:

With an initially slow start, the Judge soon develops into an enticing legal drama. As Hank (Robert Downey Jr) tries to discover the truth behind the allegations of murder surrounding his father, the audience is taken on a whirlwind ride that does not let up until the film's heart wrenching finale. When certain facts start to emerge about the Judge, Duvall, the audience is torn in believing his innocence or condemning him of murder. The ending of The Judge was one of the most heart-wrenching and emotional conclusions that I have seen in a very long time.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

The Judge, like the law itself, was a mixture of good and bad points. On one hand Robert Duvall and Robert Downey JR put on a good display, the script is engaging and seems realistically plausible. Similarly, the sons struggle to hard his father’s respect while having to defend him in court is an interesting concept. However, on the other hand, the film in places felt a bit formulaic and some of the supporting cast did not have any emotions or back stories, which made these scenes / characters feel like they had just stumbled into the mind of the director without any prior planning or thought.