The Judge
Director: David Dobkin
Talent: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton
Release Date: 17th October 2014
Masquerading as a courtroom drama with a heart of gold, The Judge is a bumbling, bloated mass of clichés that plays like an obscenely high-budget rendering of a made-for-TV movie. Director David Dobkin touches on every genre but commits to none, weaving a convoluted, 140-minute web of directionless plot-lines not worth the 1950s melodrama they were jacked from. Compelling performances from Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. are not nearly enough to save this film, as it desperately panders to and patronises its audience. While The Judge has most all the makings of an at least tolerable family drama, Dobkin’s endless meandering into silly side stories and exhaustive explanations cripples it; the film is not self-aware enough to be quirky, nor is it sincere enough to exhibit any real depth. Unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons.
Words: Laura Bell
