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Now is the time of year when Hollywood gets serious. Big, noisy blockbusters give way to brainy biopics. Big-name stars take on meatier roles, hoping for critical acclaim and maybe even award season gold. And while some films live up to expectations, others—like David Dobkin’s The Judge—just miss the mark.
The Judge stars Robert Downey, Jr. as slick Chicago defense attorney Hank Palmer. When his mother dies suddenly, Hank returns home to the small town of Carlinville, Indiana, reluctant to face his estranged father, the town’s highly respected but notoriously rigid judge (Robert Duvall).
After a couple of days in Carlinville, Hank is eager to put it all behind him and return to his life in Chicago. But then his father is brought in for questioning in the hit-and-run death of a former defendant, and Hank finds himself extending his stay in the town he’s worked so hard to escape.
Hank Palmer is a guy that Downey’s fans will instantly recognize. He’s cocky and clever and quick-witted—like Tony Stark, but without the metal suit. And though we’ve seen the character time and time again, Downey plays him so well that it feels more like reconnecting with an old friend than rehashing the same old character. And, as an added bonus, the character has a kind of frantic comic energy that can easily carry a film.
Unfortunately, though, even Downey can’t maintain his usually high level of energy as he slogs through this increasingly gloomy family drama. And as Hank struggles with his relationship with his hard-nosed father turned stubborn client, he slowly loses the spark that tends to make his movies so much fun to watch.
Meanwhile, the story offers a few surprises—but they’re too few and far between. For the most part, The Judge is a pretty standard small-town prodigal son story. The big city big shot dreads returning to the charming little town that he was so eager to leave behind—and, once he’s there, he forced to revisit his past, facing not just his hard-nosed father but also his troubled brothers and his beautiful (and perpetually single) former girlfriend. From the beginning, it’s pretty easy to see where the story’s headed—and it rarely deviates from its predictable path. While that may make it a sweet and maybe even heartwarming story, it definitely doesn’t justify its long and drawn-out (141-minute) runtime—especially when you consider that most of the subplots are left unresolved in the end.
Though its talented cast manages to elevate The Judge far above the usual schmaltzy made-for-TV family drama, even a charismatic star like Robert Downey, Jr. can’t keep it from succumbing to the old formulas and clichés. It has its enjoyable moments—but, ultimately, it’s heavy and forgettable.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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