User Reviews

Despite the fact many people throw crap on "The Judge," it's so rewatchable. Duvall earned his seventh Oscar nomination (his fourth in supporting) for David Dobkin’s John Grisham-esque courtroom drama. He plays Joseph Palmer, the ornery magistrate of an Indiana hamlet who employees his estranged son (Robert Downey, Jr.), a hot-shot Chicago lawyer, to defend him in a murder trial. Even though it's a bit overstuffed trying to be all things to all people: a legal thriller, family drama, Capra-corn Americana, with dialogue written by Nick Schenk who also wrote Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino," the chemistry between Downey and Duvall is magnetic you can't take your eyes off them. The best moments are also with Downey and Emma Tremblay who plays his 9 year-old daughter and is teaching her how to drive and is telling her that him and her mom are getting divorced which feels honest.

The Judge packs an emotional resonance that too few films accomplish... Lassoing you into a story with dynamic prowess. Wonderfully crafted, with outstanding, moving performances from Downey Jr and Robert Duvall that in of themselves make it worth it. 9.1 out of 10

Una película de drama en la corte con una buena trama y buenas interpretaciones, la recomiendo mucho.

Сильнейшая и серьëзнейший фильм, без пау-пау, пиу-пиу, как в marvel, лучшая роль Роберта Дауни мл. без пафоса, кривляний, и комиксной клоунады

Robert Downey Jr. almost singlehandedly lifts this movie into the worth seeing category. Robert Duvall also does a great job in this movie. The story is a bit cliché and at times overly slow but it is told well enough to make this movie well worth watching.

Winning For Family. The Judge Dobkin's courtroom drama might be dull but the root of its family drama is worth going on stand for. And mind you, you'd be condemned guilty, but then you ought to have few of those guilty pleasure movies. The art-sy essence that it was created as, is the only form of art in here. The script is poorly weaved out. The big chuck of dramatic antics that it aspires to pitch in on the screen might be appreciative but its procedure to reach those big figures is purely dull. It is not polished properly or supervised with a good guidance for the material comes out often chalky that makes you uncomfortable on screen. Fortunately for the makers, the tale relies a lot upon the performance and boy what a show these huge caliber of cast has put up for you. Downey Jr.'s complex **** hardcore attitude holds your finger from the first frame and makes sure that this overstretched more than two hours of your life was worth going in for. And still, he is not the best thing of the feature, winning with a larger margin lies Duvall's head spinning performance as his father whose rigid popular figure of his community is just impenetrable. Both of these performers going head to head with plenty of dramatic sequences, one of the best one that gives both of them enough range and room to flaunt in their talent is "the bathroom sequence." The scene itself is so beautifully written that it melts you down, factoring Downey Jr.'s daughter into an intimate moment between him and Duvall, the writers creates a few circle that draws in a precious smile in your face rather than few tears. The Judge is far from a perfect movie, even a good one, what it is, is a testament to the power that both these actors can ooze with panache.

In this film, a son who graduated as a lawyer returns to his homeland, a small town in the country to see his father, who is a local court judge and with whom he has never had a good relationship. However, he ends up offering to defend him when the elderly judge is charged with murder. The best of the film is the story, a family drama that holds our attention from the beginning because the characters were so well developed psychologically that they end up touching us. Robert Downey Jr. and veteran Robert Duvall give life to son and father, respectively, and both are huge in their performances, being very good how they interact with each other in front of the camera. But neither are sympathetic characters. They are very similar, cranky and a little stern, and because they are very similar, they have difficulty living together. The rest of the cast plays secondary roles but gives good support to these two actors.

Duvall keep us in a melancholic state but, he never let us getting out of the track. Suffice to rate this as a no-nonsense legal thriller out of many alike.

We loved this movie ! The usual awesome performance by RDJ. Masterful performance by Robert Duval, Oscar worthy. I especially liked the acting by Jeremy Strange

The Judge is a dramatic film about a Father - Son relationship which both in the legal practice. Many may say, it's all about justice system in the society or about law, how to rule or whatever. But the way I look at it, It's how a son deals with his arrogant and hard hearted father. The pride of his father worsen it. This further illustrates how he forgives his father and how hard it is. But at the end, the love of his father reveals when the pride finally vanished and admitted that his son is the best lawyer he met in the court. They've lost the case, he's father was sentenced. But through this, he forgave his father. Forgiveness. It really melts my heart. If you think your father doesn't love you or proud of you, or If your son will never go back at you - will never see you or will never defend you in any ways.. I recommend this movie!

John Grisham, the former lawyer turned novelist, has become known for his action packed, courtroom conspiracies. These films are always full of twists and unlikely heroes, but in his latest film, The Judge, Grisham takes a step back. The lawyers he creates have always been young and smart, but inexperienced and in over their heads, this time, it's just the opposite. Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) has left his small town upbringing behind and has become one of the biggest criminal defense attorneys in the country. Law has always been in his family, as his father, Joseph (Robert Duvall) has been a judge in that small town for nearly fifty years. Hank is home for a rare visit, when he starts to notice his father is deteriorating, but does little about it. One night, The Judge goes out to the store and hits someone with his car, his son contends, it was a simple accident, but the district attorney thinks it's something more, due to the Judge's former connection with the victim. Despite them never seeing eye to eye, and despite the Judge's stubbornness, he sees no choice but to let his big shot son defend him. Both actors in this film are terrific, few are as good as Robert Duvall, but the chemistry in this film is a bit of a problem. Robert Duvall is always this humble soft spoken guy, that pulls at the heart strings, but Robert Downey Jr. has a personality that's bigger than life itself. While Duvall was amazing, Downey Jr. always seemed to overpower him in their scenes together. The combination made for a few good laughs, but overall, Downey's personality overshadows the empathy the crowd had for Duvall. The bottom line, The Judge may not be John Grisham's most thrilling work, but it does pose some interesting questions of law and explores the necessity of a father/son relationship, even when the two parties don't really get along.

I will say I personally loved the movie. But that is largely in part because I love movies about law. As a movie it has great acting, and a great story. However it never really surprises you with anything, as the case goes along with no real large twists or turns and the verdict is what everyone thought it would be. It is very emotional and in my opinion worth the watch.

This is a great movie to drink too. If you're decently **** you forget the plot holes, contrivances, and cliches. Actually, its the only way to make this movie watchable since you can view it as an unintentional comedy and idiotic **** like incest subplots become funny.

The Judge is a powerful and emotional movie, way more than I expected. Duvall is brilliant, and the movie's themes of reputation and abandonment really come through in a couple crucial scenes. But don't let that deter you from seeing it: those crucial scenes are what make the whole movie worth watching. Other than that, all that's left are the usual separated couple with a young daughter, cocky lawyer, honest and tough father, family drama, and rekindling with an old flame. The "small town" setting is the right choice for this movie, and it does its best to incorporate everything else.

In an ideal Metacritic world I would give this film a 6.5.……almost single-handedly Robert Downey Jr. nearly pulls it off and brings the huge disabled cruise ship that is “The Judge“ to safe harbor….Downey creates a character that is so intriguing and somehow “new” that the film almost succeeds in holding our interest very much in spite of its unwieldy and all-over-the-map script and direction.……My feeling is that the film is worth seeing almost exclusively because of the opportunity to watch Downey and Robert Duvall “do their stuff”; each provides a sort of master classes in acting….. However, the film as a whole suffers SO badly from its impulse to go madly in all directions that it begins to feel more like a television mini-series crammed into a feature film format than an actual successful drama. Both the director and the script writer lack a sense of the those crucial boundaries that any film genre needs to accommodate and “The Judge” loses its way as indulges in far too many (almost whimsical) dramatic angles and possibilities **** this a psychological family drama ? a courtroom drama ? a film noir? a thriller? a coming-of-age story?……worst of all when the film begins to lose its way and grow quite muddled, the solution choice appears to be to pile on EVEN MORE plot developments…and this is what eventually very nearly “sinks” it (despite Downey and Duvall’s very strong performances)… ……a good example of a film that succeeds in being a legal/courtroom drama AND a psychological thriller is the George Clooney film “Michael Clayton”- a really remarkable achievement and one of the best American films I have seen in decades ….and another example is the more modest achievement of the Matt Damon film “The Rainmaker” of several years back….both these films respect the limitations of the film genre they’re working in while at the same time cautiously stretching the material to add new dimensions …… “The Judge” tries hard to do this but fails; it is an interesting failure, however, and hopefully the director will one day learn to reign in his overly ambitious narrative impulses…… …....another criticism I have is that the dialogue in the film is frequently frankly unbelievable and over-the-top witty and clever ….many of these characters would have to be geniuses or near-geniuses to come up with the things they come out with and Downey’s character especially often comes across as a sort of combination of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and Zorro ! In fact dangerously close to the superhero Downey has now played in THREE “Iron Man” films !.... It's not be a stretch I think to suggest that at this point in his career Downey needs to watch out for Iron Man Damage !….. My final criticism of this film is is its lack of any clear FOCUS. In fact, at times it feels more like a dream the director is having than an actual movie and the narrative line all but disappears in a muddled and undisciplined phantasmagoria and this is really too bad because there is in fact a lot to like here; hence my ideal 6.5 rating.

I could not believe how bad this movie was. Stereotypes, cliches, and corniness galore: overly demanding authoritarian dad, slick city lawyer returns to small town, sympathetic mentally disabled son, star athlete son whose career was cut short by tragedy. And worst of all, a goofy, small town lawyer who's so nervous he throws up every day before court. So we're to believe that after sitting on the bench for 40 years, this is the best a county judge could get to defend himself on a murder charge? Such an insult to Duvall, Downey and co. The only believable characters/performances were Vera Farmiga and Billy Bob Thornton in supporting roles. The Duvall best actor nomination was obviously a lifetime achievement nod: he's a great actor, but this was his worst performance I've seen.

A great movie. Dont listen to the rubbish some critics say about this movie, its good, if you enjoy a real story with excellent acting and characters that feel like real people then you will enjoy this. If you need guns going off and explosions every two minutes then probably not for you. the only thing i could fault it for is that its abit predictable in parts but the stellar acting makes up for it.

Touching story about a father and a son who can't be near each other without fighting but fate bring them together. Their story is quite well developed on screen and Duvall and Downer Jr give amazing performances. Thorton also appears as a potential antagonist but he proves to be a very kind man in the end and it fit well on the script. The main problems in The Judge are the unnecessary roles of Farmiga and Meester and their weird story with Hank Palmer's family, which doesn't end clear, and the ending. It was very weak comparing to the rest of the story.

Awful awful awful awful worst movie I've ever **** seen god damn gay as **** I'm just typing more characters to fulfill the 150 character quota but 4real The Judge **** so much Jesus God.

As the story drags on, the story starts to fray despite the strong characters present. Rookie writer twist and mini-stories placed in the story show that this is a movie where the screen writers and directors were searching for anything they could to keep the momentum going. Pass on it.

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.

The movie starts really boring, at least for 20-30 minutes. I couldn't see how it can even start to entertain me, and at the same time I was also annoyed with the sub-par acting. I was relieved not to continue watching this movie after about 40 minutes into it.

Oscar season is here and I saw this movie because Robert Duvall is nominated for best supporting actor. Duvall, now 84, has appeared in dozens of movies, but no blockbuster hits since the 1970’s - 1980’s. Robert Downey Jr. has the lead role. I find that both actors can be either really interesting or really tedious. As a result I wasn’t expecting too much, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie is much more watchable than the reviews would indicate. Duval plays an aging small town judge with high standards and an impeccable record, who may have committed a murder. Robert Downey Jr. plays the prodigal son, who left town many years ago with a chip on his shoulder and has become a talented and cynical lawyer who defends wealthy sleaze balls. The story is more about the redemption of their relationship and finding their humanity for each other, than it is a courtroom drama. (It’s certainly less dramatic than something like, say “The Client.”) It a feel good movie, and a worthy rental, but Given Edward Norton’s performance in Birdman, I think it’s doubtful that Duvall will win.

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.

"The Judge" stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall in a film co-written by David Dobkin (who also directed), David Seidler and Bill Dubuque. With a supporting cast of notable performers including Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga and Vincent D'Onofrio, this is nothing more than a vehicle for Messrs. Duvall and Downey who find themselves enmeshed in an unconvincing story filled with subplots which keep popping up in an often disruptive manner. The film is approximately 2 and ½ hours long and, with that span of time, should have offered the viewers more than the one outstanding performance by Mr. Duvall (who could recite the alphabet and make it sound like eloquent prose). The bottom line, however, is that this talented cast of actors deserved something better to display their talents. For that reason, the writers and director will have to place themselves at the mercy of the court of viewing opinion and, plead guilty as charged. I give the film a 7.5 rating.

This film confounds me. On one hand the performances of Duvall and Downey are great and their scenes together are fantastic. On the other hand there are multiple sub plots that are just pointless and makes the film about 30 minutes to long. The performances alone get this film a recommendation. B

Watching Robert Downey Jr. in a not Ironman rol is quite good, watching him exploit all his acting abbilities as portrayed as they are in this movie. He is an incredible actor, as also is Robert Duvall, and both of them show that in the film. The plot is quite good, an attorney goes back to his home town for his mother's funeral just to find out that his father is accused of murder, and now he shall represent him at the court. It's a very emotive family drama, being also mixed with some nice court scenes. Though, the movie can get boring at some parts, and some another ones you are going to feel that they are not necessary for the plot, and there are also going to be some incredible coincidences, but the film itself is entertaining. Real score: 6.7

It is definitely the movie for the male part, because no one better can understand son and father relationship. Simply amazing with the right amount of humors and emotios.

Juega mucho con los sentimientos y está llena de pequeños detalles que la hacen una buena película. Puede que en algún momento se haga pesada/larga, pero no aburre.

I really liked this movie. Sure, it has its flaws but the performances by the amazing cast are too good. Not to mention the fact that the film resonated with me very strongly because of how much I could relate to a big chunk of what was going on as well as the characters themselves. Plus it's nice to see RDJ play someone else other than Tony Stark again, though the character he portrays does admittedly have shades of Stark in him.

'The Judge' wasn't much of the big deal. It was entertaining and had a really great supporting performance given by Robert Duvall, I'll give it that, but it isn't really an experience and it can sometimes become forgetful.

The Judge's main flaw is the overabundance of clichéd characters, from the title role itself to that of Billy Bob Thornton, Also, trying to establish moral high-ground and raise questions of legality, specifically the case when something "feels" just but the law says it isn't. Well, at the end of the film, those issues remain unaddressed, and while everybody loves an open ending, this is not the case. It could be the multitude of sub-stories (relationships with the brothers, with the ex girlfriend, with the ex wife, with the daughter) that make The Judge seem generally unfinished, despite the 2-hour duration. Robert Downey Jr's comedy sure is entertaining, but I wonder if it was appropriate most times, given the seriousness of the topic. Robert Duvall's character is one we've seen dozens of times (stone-cold father trying to prepare his son for the hardships of life), therefore it doesn't leave much room for acting. It feels like the rest of the cast, in spite of the tiny screen-time, did a better job than the leads. I'd also like to point out the annoying soundtrack choices.

While there was originally some Oscar potential for this court-room drama, it sadly failed to be a contender. To start, the direction of this film felt lost from time to time. Maybe someone else like, preferable anyone else (except for Michael Bay or M. Night Shamaylan). Also, the film stretches certain scenes that come off as unnecessary. But despite its flaws, Robert Duvall is the saving grace of this film. His character holds the movie together and is the true character that we come to truly know and love. Robert Downey Jr. is good in the role, but I wish this movie could have been something more, but overall, it's just an enjoyable for the main purpose of Robert Duvall and the court case scenes primarily. I give this a B-!

This movie had everything to turn into a modern classic. All the elements were there. A good thematic, a good director, a great cast, astonishing cinematography and a very good production. But something went wrong, unfortunately. Still, it's a good movie, Robert Duvall deserved his Golden Globe nod, but it's a movie that you don't need to watch it twice. It has a good writing, but it's very monotonous. The emotions are well polished, but the facts take too long to get explored.

Entertaining absorbing movie despite the 15 minutes slow start. Professional acting from the judge Robert Duvall and his three sons Robert Downey, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Jeremy Strong. Melodramatic movie about an evading son Robert Downey who became a good lawyer despite his far from ethical life, and his father Robert Duvall who has a judgement derailed by his love for his evading son. The storyline revolves about the family fate deeply hurt by, Robert Downey, the son who flew away from family and probable love. The family reunites again when the mother dies and the father is accused of hit and run killing. The past is revived, and the humanly true feelings are uncovered. An acting game that is not to be missed, the movie isn't though a box office magnet.

The Judge benefits most from an excellent leading performance by Robert Downey Jr. and great supporting work by the great Robert Duvall. While The Judge is beautifully filmed, the film overall lacks some needed substance not to mention the 2 1/2 hour runtime, this is just way long.

I decided to pass this movie in the time of rating because the perfomance of Robert Downey Jr. is always amazing, and gets to save the picture. But the movie contains a lot of failures at the time of look like a film which opts for the Oscar.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This film sets high expectations that it just couldn't deliver, with an all star cast put to waste. The Judge craves critic's attention, and they don't seem to be buying it..

A really entertaining movie with great actors and an interesting plot twist. I really liked the fact that the end is not what you would expect from a movie but instead it shows a more "realistic" point of view. The actors are all amazing especially RDJ and Duvall. The soundtrack fits the movie perfectly and is really moving. You should definitely check it out. 7/10

I realized that some newspapers such as The New York Times were very critical of this film, but I believe that this film is the best acting Robert Duvall has done since "Apocalypse Now." His wild tough as nails performance may well be an Oscar contender. Robert Downey Jr. is the big city lawyer/prodigal son who returns home. His tough, often sarcastic and arrogant legal arguments are compelling, yet he has a softer, sentimental side. The local color of rural Indiana adds so much beauty and small town feel to this drama, as does the Bon Iver song, "Holocene," which is used in the beginning and end of the film. The resolution of the family feud is not what one would expect, yet the end is poignant and heartfelt, yielding a very American story that is brawling, yet full of sentiment and heartfelt family stories we can all identify.

Very gripping and deep in the sense of father/son interaction. The whole cast was great, Duvall and Downey especially. Kudos, this was the best movie I have seen in a while.

Meh. Unlikable people doing unpleasant things. They're all miserable, dried up husks of people who have fffed up their lives so completely that nothing at all will ever make it better. The actors play these parts well but you really just don't care what happens to them.

Fabulous movie! Excellent cast! Great direction. The reality of the story is gripping, often painful, and allows for brilliant interaction between Robert Downey, Jr and Robert Duvall. Although Vera Farmiga's screen time is minimal, she makes the most of it and shines. Jeremy Strong is worthy of a nomination for his spot on portrayal of his mentally flawed character. All in all a great movie experience. This is a film to add to one's collection of classic drama.

A heart-warming, cliche bucket which to be honest is in parts humorous but for the most part it fails to hook the film goer into actually caring about the characters. It hits almost every cliche on the head from big city lawyer goes home to a small town to a father and son fishing on the lake with a whole sandwich of other cringy/yet surprisingly forgivable sequences, mostly due to RDJ's black tie humour. My biggest complaint has to be the court case. The story behind it and build up kind of felt like someone letting the air out of a deflating balloon in a cactus farm.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Read the book years ago. Loved the performances in this movie. Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall play the parts to a T. Billy Bob Thornton didn't do a bad job - better than I would expect for the role he was playing. Highly recommend it!

A very family-centered film, decent film although it depends on who you ask. RDJ is great in this role, a different type of character than he normally plays. Robert Duvall great as well. Smaller roles for others, mostly forgettable. Story is cliche and predictable, except for final scene. In summary, worth a rent if you want a good simple movie without explosions. Wait for it on Redbox or Netflix.

I don't understand how a movie can be criticized because it doesn't turn out in a certain way. We enjoyed this movie, with the many subplots (that's probably where the criticism comes from). It has excellent acting from all. I did wonder why it was never explained what the youngest son mental problems were about. I especially enjoyed Downey's character's quickness with figuring the legal angles. All in all, it was a story about a family's love, despite their many differences and faults which clash. Good scenery too!

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!