'The Judge': The plot offers no surprises
In 鈥淭he Judge,鈥� Robert Downey Jr. has his first serious, non-superhero dramatic role since 鈥淭he Soloist鈥� in 2009. It鈥檚 nice to see this great聽actor appearing in something other than franchise cash cows, but his new聽movie won鈥檛 likely inspire him to do more of the same.聽
It鈥檚 a by-the-book father-son drama starring Downey as Hank Palmer,听补 Chicago lawyer known for defending 鈥渙nly the rich and guilty,鈥� and聽Robert Duvall as his flinty, estranged father, Joseph Palmer, a respected聽pillar-of-the-community Indiana judge. Hank has returned home, after a聽very long absence, for his mother鈥檚 funeral (and to flee from his wife鈥檚 infidelity) and, while there, finds himself defending his father in a possible聽manslaughter rap.
There is nothing surprising about the way this overlong movie, written聽and directed by David Dobkin, plays itself out. Duvall does his crusty聽codger bit, Vincent D鈥橭nofrio and Vera Farmiga have standout cameos, and Downey gives an intense, tightly-wound performance that is better聽than this movie deserves. Regardless of how this film fares, I hope he聽decides to make more movies that don鈥檛 require him to be encased in a聽superhero suit.聽Grade: C+ (Rated R for language including some sexual references.)
