The Judge

The Judge 

Rating 8 out of 10

When I saw the trailer for the Judge I was intrigued from the start.  I like a good super hero shoot 'em up as well as the next guy.  I also like a good family drama and for me that's exactly what this was. In the hands of lessor actors this movie could have been a misfire.  Yet Robert Downey Jr. proves he has the chops to be far more than Ironman or Sherlock Holmes.  Robert Duvall is always great and when Vera Farmiga is on the screen I can't take my eyes off her.  Billy Bob Thornton can be good when he wants to me and here he want's to be.

As the movie starts we see what a rotten guy defense attorney Hank Palmer (Downey) is defending people he knows are guilty just for a big pay check.  His life is rocked when he finds his mom has died and he goes back to his small Indiana home town for the funeral.  To say he and his father (Duvall) don't get along is like saying Angelina kinda likes adopting kids.  Dad is a long time no nonsense judge in the town.  The funeral is painful in many ways for Hank except for seeing his old girlfriend (Farmiga).

As Hank is leaving the Judge is involved in an incident with his car where a bad person from his past is killed.  The judge is arrested and the only person to defend him is super lawyer Hank.  They do of course butt heads and there is plenty of conflict.  A district attorney is brought in from out of town (Billy Bob) who has a grudge with the Palmer family.

The story isn't overly original although it has laughs and tugs at the heart too.  It is nearly 2.5 hours in length but I never once looked at my watch.  I enjoyed it.