Monday, October 27, 2014

THE JUDGE movie review

"Judgement is Coming"


The Judge is a film starring Robert Downey Jr. as Hank Palmer, a big shot city defense lawyer who has to return home for his mother's funeral. While there, he has to spend time with his father (played by Robert Duvall) whom he hates, but because of a case brought up against his father, they must learn to put aside their differences to clear his father's name.

I've been looking forward to The Judge ever since I saw the first trailer. Not for the story, but for the stellar cast they've assembled. We've got Robert Downey Jr, who is finally in a starring role outside of Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes, Academy award winner Robert Duvall, Emmy award nominated actor Vincent D'Onofrio, the wonderful Vera Farmiga, etc. There was a lot going for this movie, and it just didn't deliver for me.


Not acting wise though, it did deliver in that department. Robert Downey Jr. is really good. He has quite a few incredible scenes with Robert Duvall, that reaffirm to me that he can act outside of the usual smartass character. Robert Duvall is also really good, not Oscar caliber performance, but certainly more than just fair. His on-screen chemistry with Downey Jr. really worked, and they played off each other well in most scenes.

The supporting cast is also serviceable. Vincent D'Onofrio and Billy Bob Thorton aren't nearly in the movie enough for me to really appreciate their presence, but they were serviceable in the scenes they were given. Vera Farmiga, Emma Tremblay and Jeremy Strong may have been the best out of the supporting cast, but don't expect any big scenes from them. Dax Shepard may have the character I least liked throughout the entire movie. He plays the small town lawyer, who was probably there to add some comic relief, but actually wasn't any funny at all. 


What did not live up to my expectations? The writing, mostly. This feels like a really good movie made for cable television. That really isn't a compliment. I was prepared going in for a generic story, but I know it's all about execution. That being said, it wasn't well executed. The Judge is a film that retreads many of the usual drama movie tropes, and, to be honest, forces it upon you and expects you to feel emotion for these characters.

The film delivers quite a few emotional and powerful scenes, and hits the right emotional beats, but everything else in between is dull, pointless, and sloppily put together. Had the film shaved off at least twenty minutes and took away a few pointless character plotlines, then it'd have probably turned out a better film. Many of the characters plotlines are sloppily written as well. Some characters you'd forget were even in the movie because of how many times and how long they're off screen. Also, the endings to each plotline are poorly made. You'd be tricking yourself to say that was actually a resolved emotional arc for the character.


The Judge is a film that can boast its two leads (Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall), who are incredible in the movie, but in the end its two leads and its sometimes beautiful cinematography don't make up for how poorly written, dull, and generic its script is.

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