A Highly Recommended, Must See Movie!
Rarely do I go to the theater to see a movie and come away feeling like I actually saw a movie worth viewing. It is especially rare for both my husband and myself to equally rave over a movie.
I didn't expect to really like The Judge. I was mostly going to be with my husband and The Judge is the movie he had selected. I should have known with a cast that included Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vincent D'Onofrio and Billy Bob Thornton, that the movie would be outstanding.
It was actually better than outstanding, and I can highly recommend it.
The Characters in The Judge
Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a tough, hard-hitting successful defense attorney who is known for defending criminals and winning. When his mother dies, he has to go back home for the funeral for the first time in years where he almost immediately comes face to face with the past and a father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who seemed to always be disappointed in his middle son.
By GabboT [CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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The oldest son, Glen, masterfully played by Vincent D'Onofrio, never moved away from their home town. He is married with children, owns a auto tire shop and has spent his life being a dependable, respectable, basically good guy.
There is also a younger brother, Dale, who is mentally handicapped and is obsessed with making home videos. Another character who is very easy to like.
Brief Synopsis of the Movie, The Judge
On the evening of their mother's funeral, a once convicted murderer who was sentenced by Judge Palmer, is killed. Judge Palmer is accused and charged with the murder. As it becomes abundantly clear that the "nice" defense attorney Judge Palmer has hired is no match for Dwight Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton), the Judge has no choice but to rely on his son, Hank, to defend him.
The Judge actually makes defending him very difficult for Hank because his wants to preserve his reputation and insure that the decisions he has made in the cases he has presided over will not be challenged.
Review of the Movie, The Judge
So many movies today are very surface. They are all about the blood and gore, sex or sensationalism.
That is simply not the case with The Judge. The movie has a real, "old fashioned" plot!
As a viewer, you feel like you actually get to know the characters. Each of these men do such a superb job of playing their roles, that you forget that they are actors on a screen and cry, scream or rant right alone with them.
There are several touching, revealing scenes in this movie. Almost like real life. You think you know someone and what makes them tick, only to find out that you were mistaken about their motivation. Why they made certain decisions and judgements. How simply reminding a person of someone we know, can alter the way we treat an individual. That is amazingly realistic.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a movie that has a real story line that may even make you question your own judgement, you will love this movie too. Personally, I always enjoy a movie that makes me introspective, one that causes me to seriously think, not just sit back and be visually stimulated.
In my opinion, "The Judge" is a 5 star, must see movie!
5 out of 5 stars
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I had seen plenty of trailers for The Judge, but hadn't made up my mind about seeing it. But, you convinced me! The cast is outstanding and it's good to know that the rest of the movie lived up to that great cast.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't especially excited about going Susan. I had heard mixed reviews, but I have to say, anyone who would give this movie a bad review, is not someone I would ever need to listen to because we would clearly be looking for entirely different things in a movie.
DeleteThanks for the review. This sounds like a movie Ray and I would like.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend it Mary Beth! I feel sure you will enjoy pretty much the same aspects about the movie that I enjoyed. I am quite confident about recommending it to you and Ray.
DeleteI will look forward to seeing this movie after reading your excellent and entertaining review. Mouse.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you Elf! I am sure you will enjoy it!
DeleteI want to see this. Terrific review! - Mom saw it and she raved about it like you do here. I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr fan as well (huge!) - so this is on my list - not that this is the case for this movie, but in movies where there's something that has to be figured out, I usually figure it out in the first part of the movie (drives my kids nuts, lol) - whenever I go to the movies with my 14year old and there's something to be figured out, he'll ask me about 20 minutes into it, 'have you figured out who-dunnit yet mom' lol! So consequently very few movies impress me these days, and this movie sounds like one I would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteDo come back and let us know if you figure this one out in advance. This movie kept us captivated and while I thought I could figure out a few things, there were definitely some unexpected twists. It truly kept us spellbound right up to the end.
DeleteOne of my fave movies! Just watched it again last week. Robert Downey Jr is incredible in this film. All the actors are. I'm in awe of this film - how it was depicted. My friend actually introduced me to it. Anyone who hasn't seen should choose this one for movie night.
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