The Judge

In addition to enjoying movies that explore relationships between characters you grow to love, in the case of The Judge, I also appreciate the fact that it's a great combination of drama and humor. It's not outright slapstick humor, but some scenes are appropriately light-hearted, just as the plot is lightened by certain characters. And yet it remains believable enough. (12/01/2015)

A very, very long film, completely unnecessarily so. Although at first glance it would seem that there are a lot of characters to tell a story about, the opposite is true and it's still all about the father and son, with the others being more or less just unnecessary or unused ornaments (Billy Bob Thornton in particular). In addition, I saw The Judge in a failed Czech version, with Robert Duvall speaking to me in the completely inappropriate voice of Jiří Štěpnička (who, unlike his fellow "dubbers", at least tried to act). Two and a half. (23/03/2015)

A nicely made combination of family and courtroom drama, with a great cast that adds to the authenticity and quality of the whole piece. It doesn't bore, entertains, surprises and impresses, and Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as always. My only complaint is towards the end, when the film indulged in too much drama and slowly dwindled on the courtroom action – were it the other way around, I would have been happier. A full-fledged film in terms of drama, it falls far short of its other genre peers in terms of courtroom tension. Still, a decent affair and a stronger 3 in the end. (10/10/2021)

The Judge is a virtually therapeutic family movie right on the edge of mainstream drama and audience-pleasing thriller that will satisfy most viewers thanks to its stellar cast and overall care in the making of this movie. There is little to fault it for, and I can only wonder how much different the movie would have sounded without "entertainer" Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, so my feeling of satisfaction prevails after the first viewing. However, I could see this being a solid drama on a much smaller scale than it ultimately ended being - even though I understand that most viewers would then have not been so interested. (20/01/2022)

The courtroom and the incident handled there serve only as a cover for the family drama in which city boy Robert Downey Jr. re-establishes his relationship with his small-town family, led by Robert Duvall. As such, it can’t be compared to courtroom dramas like A Time to Kill or The Rainmaker. The Judge is halfway between them and the sentimental Marvin's Room. Both Roberts play great. Downey’s character seems to be written just for him, and Duvall excels in his role. However, some supporting characters (the sexy daughter played by Vera Farmiga and Dax Shepard’s inexperienced lawyer) slow the film down unnecessarily. They are not relevant enough for the story and merely disrupt the development of the complicated father/son relationship, which is of key importance for the film. On the other hand, the interesting lawyer played by Billy Bob Thornton could have been given more space. The once innovative and majestic music by Thomas Newman (used in Frank Darabont’s and Sam Mendes’s movies) has become a synonym for straightforward sentimental “music for the soul” of the consumer viewer, which is unfortunately what The Judge turns out to be. It’s not a bad movie, but its creators could have aspired to more. (29/10/2014)