Robert Downey Jr’s “The Judge” did not disappoint.
I had been following the film since production began, for no reason other than the fact that I’m a die-hard, magazine-covers-taped-to-my-walls-style, RDJ fangirl. I kept track of set pictures and cast interviews, refreshed the page waiting for the first trailer to be posted and stalked the iTunes store until the movie’s score came out. I acted as though this was the next installment of one of those heavily-marketed sci-fi/action franchises that put RDJ back in the spotlight.
I’m not sure what would have happened to me if “The Judge” had been a bad movie. I can barely cope with the nit-picky disappointment that hit me in a devastating wave after I watched and processed Iron Man 3 (#IronManComicsReaderProblems).
Via: Geeks of Doom
If RDJ slapped me in the face with another one of those underwhelming but entertaining flicks, I’d never be able to trust anyone ever again. (I mean, I would still buy the Blu-ray and all anyway just because I like watching him talk — and move and breathe and generally exist — but that’s beside the point.)
The premise is simple enough: A big-time lawyer goes back to his hometown for the first time in years to bury his mother and ends up staying to defend his father in court. Some people have categorized “The Judge” as a courtroom drama, but I think it’s really more about relationships.
Via: CriticWire
But, someone told me once that there will always be a new way to tell an old story. That’s exactly what “The Judge” does. Somehow, the movie dodged clichés while working within a premise that would typically lend itself to them.
There was no Hollywood magic nor were there perfect resolutions. Just people trying their best, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing and sometimes reaching those weird middle-grounds we are all acquainted with in real life. It is refreshing to see these depicted in a movie because Hollywood’s usually concerned with presenting fairy-tale endings or Greek tragedies rather than the truth.
There are no heroes or villains here — everyone is likeable and dislikeable in their own ways. The story itself is three-dimensional like that, as well. It’s charming, endearing and funny.
Via: I Spot TV
But it’s also tragic as fuck.
It’s an uplifting movie without a happy ending. Or a sad movie that ends with hopeful, new beginnings.
The cast is pretty star-studded, too. You get biggies like Robert Duvall and Vera Farmiga, who both delivered amazing performances and, of course, RDJ was amazing. Best performance of his career. Oscar-bound. All of that. Whatever. My opinion might be biased, considering how much I like him, but shit, he’s good.
RDJ’s so good, in fact, that he is the highest-earning actor in Hollywod.
Now, I could try to bullshit some complaints about the movie in order to make this sound like an unbiased review, but no. “The Judge” is amazing.
Watch the movie, and I’ll let you be the judge for yourself. (Pun intended.)
Featured photo courtesy of: Fandango
