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Plot Summary: Big city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and, along the way, reconnects with his estranged family.

Director: David Dobkin

Writers: Nick Schenek, Bill Dubuque

Runtime: 141 min

Main Cast:

• Robert Downey Jr. as Hank Palmer
• Robert Duvall as Joseph Palmer
• Vera Farmiga as Samantha Powell
• Billy Bob Thornton as Dwight Dickham
• Vincent D'Onofrio as Glen Palmer

Review: by Anthony and Lee

Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, and Billy Bob Thornton are all very recognizable names in the acting world, and the combination of their skills intrigued us.  Based on their reputations alone, we determined that we would give The Judge a try.

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Lawyer Hank Palmer (Downey) is well-known in his field for representing the guilty and winning on their behalves with little to no moral qualms about it.  Prepared to win once again, Hank is regrettably informed of his mother’s death and has to return to his hometown in Indiana for the funeral, a place he has avoided since he left many years ago.  Tensions run high as he is forced to interact with his highly judgmental, estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall), and he cannot wait to hop on flight home.  However, everything changes when he is called off of his flight by the news that Judge Palmer has been arrested on suspicion of murder.  Hank’s troubles are only beginning as he struggles to defend his father despite their relationship history.

What We Liked:

If nothing else, we can say that The Judge had a very promising story.  It may have been a bit long and tedious in places, but, overall, it was both interesting and emotionally compelling, and there was no lack of character development.  If anything was the focus of the movie, it was the relationship between the characters and their growth as not only individuals but also family.  The home video clips that are shown sporadically throughout the film are particularly touching.

The acting, while not spectacular or Oscar-winning, was by no means bad.  Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, and Billy Bob Thornton have certainly given more stellar performances, but they managed not to disappoint us terribly.

Dax Shepard, and Jeremy Strong, however, were the real stars.

We’re not sure when he started to become such a strong actor, but Dax Shepard was fantastic to watch as the small town, country bumpkin lawyer.  His bumbling and fumbling were endearing, and he seemed perfectly at home not playing the douche we’ve come to expect from him.

Jeremy Strong, on the other hand, was someone with whom we’re not well acquainted at all.  His portrayal of Hank’s seemingly autistic younger brother, Dale, was surprisingly genuine.  Portraying someone with special needs can be very tricky, and, ofttimes, actors tend to overact the part.  However, Jeremy Strong handled his role very well.

What We Didn’t Like:

While the movie was pretty solid overall, it was a bit on the bland side.  It ran long and got dull in a lot of places, which only made it seem to drag more.  For the sake of time and interest, there were definitely some subplots that could have been eliminated.  For example, the entire romance between Hank and his high school girlfriend never really panned out and was therefore unnecessary.  His relationship problems with his wife did not add anything to the plot either.  Romance basically had no place in the movie.  I suppose it was only included so there would be some women in roles of at least a little substance.

Also, there were some scenes that just didn’t really make sense.  For example, the three Palmer brothers find themselves in a confrontation at the bar with some locals who hold a grudge against their father.  Hank was the only one who did not live in town, so it simply did not make sense that the two other brothers had not already had this particular fight with these guys already.  It was a small town.  Why wouldn’t they have run into each other before?

Oh, and the lawyer-ing was just not up to snuff.  Come on.  We watch The Good Wife.  You’ve got to do better, movies.

Images Courtesy of IMDB