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The Judge

R Released Oct 10, 2014 2h 21m Drama TRAILER for The Judge: Trailer 1 List
49% Tomatometer 201 Reviews 72% Audience Score 25,000+ Ratings
Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a brilliant but shady attorney, returns to his Indiana hometown after learning that his mother has passed away. His arrival triggers renewed tension between himself and his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who makes no secret of his disapproval of Hank's morally ambiguous career. As the lawyer prepares to depart, his father is arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank takes on his father's defense, despite the objections of the resentful old man. Read More Read Less
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The Judge

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Critics Consensus

Solidly cast and beautifully filmed but thoroughly clichéd, The Judge seems destined to preside over a large jurisdiction of the basic cable afternoon-viewing circuit.

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Critics Reviews

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Donald Clarke Irish Times Objection! Meretricious sentimentality! Objection! Badgering the audience! Where is this leading, your honour? Rated: 2/5 Oct 20, 2014 Full Review Mark Kermode Observer (UK) As the verdict draws closer, the sentimental silliness and courtroom cliches pile up ... Rated: 3/5 Oct 19, 2014 Full Review Kate Muir Times (UK) Unfortunately, when Downey is not centre-stage the drama becomes leaden, sentimental and utterly improbable. Rated: 2/5 Oct 17, 2014 Full Review Ankit Ojha Cinema Elite [...] as predictable as it sounds, “The Judge” is anything but that. The film might be a family drama, but it’s refreshingly adult [...] and filled with surprising emotional honesty. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 9, 2024 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The familiarity of the story hurts what is Dobkin's otherwise pleasantly sincere and straightforward direction, and a number of fine performances. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 18, 2022 Full Review Dan Brightmore NME (New Musical Express) Robert Duvall gives a startlingly visceral performance in Robert Downey Jr's courtroom drama. Rated: 4/5 May 26, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blue H Relatively good script but then add Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall and now we have something worth watching. Overall I very much enjoyed watching, just thought the ending could have been different/better. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/04/24 Full Review Corey A They didn’t spend enough time in the beginning with the main character for you to like him. For me personally I have the exact same relationship with my father so it was hard to watch. The best thing is just to cut people like that out. The brother of the main character wasn’t cast correctly either. They should have had a more leading female in the mix. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/20/24 Full Review Patrick C Great movie. I did not really care for the ending though. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/20/24 Full Review Sarah D I won’t say this movie is stellar because it’s not. I do think the audience score is a bit more fair than the critics’ reviews. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/16/24 Full Review Charles H Great movie! Writing, acting, directing is top notch! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/24 Full Review Karen S I think it’s an amazing movie- sentimental for sure but so what? It wasn’t corny - had a great soundtrack that HOLDS UP! And acting is pitch perfect. What actors! How can the reviews suck this badly?! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/05/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a brilliant but shady attorney, returns to his Indiana hometown after learning that his mother has passed away. His arrival triggers renewed tension between himself and his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who makes no secret of his disapproval of Hank's morally ambiguous career. As the lawyer prepares to depart, his father is arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank takes on his father's defense, despite the objections of the resentful old man.
Director
David Dobkin
Producer
Susan Downey, David Dobkin, David Gambino
Screenwriter
Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Big Kid Pictures, Team Downey
Rating
R (Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 10, 2014, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 5, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.7M
Runtime
2h 21m
Sound Mix
Datasat, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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