The Judge: Clichéd courtroom drama

With a gratuitously melodramatic storyline, The Judge is a forgettable courtroom drama devoid of any surprises.

Review by TOLI PAPADOPOULOS

The Judge stars Robert Downey Jr as Hank Palmer, a hard-headed defence attorney from Chicago. After Palmer receives word of his mother’s death, he returns to his hometown, paying his respects and reuniting with his estranged father Joseph (Robert Duvall) and brothers Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Dale (Jeremy Strong).

It’s revealed soon after that Palmer’s father, a former judge, has been involved in a hit and run and may be on trial for murder. A defence lawyer himself, Palmer decides to take on the case. He soon discovers that proving his father’s innocence may be more difficult than he thought.

Stretching to just under two-and-a-half hours, The Judge is lacking in creativity and focuses on a clichéd father-son dynamic. Without giving anything away, the story becomes fairly easy to predict more than half-way through.

Viewers are also subjected to a number of irrelevant sub-plots. Palmer’s reignited relationship with his former lover serves no purpose other than to inform viewers of his rebellious past.

His ex-wife and daughter also have no relevance to the overall story, and their presence in the film doesn’t seem to give the story any additional substance.

On a positive note, the acting is up to scratch with lively performances from Duvall, Downey and Billy Bob Thornton, who act as the prosecutors of the case. Downey maintains his quirky persona with some similarities to the charismatic characters he portrays in the Iron Man trilogy and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Duvall also gives a convincing performance as a judge and father who wishes to leave behind a legacy that is honest in nature. With a cold-blooded demeanour, Thornton gives a resounding performance as the merciless prosecutor Dwight Dickham.

Yet an all-star cast and standout performances aren’t enough to salvage The Judge; it's an overdramatic court story lacking any creativity. The jury is out and the verdict isn’t pretty.

Two stars