The Judge (Cinema Screening)

(Spoiler free)

So the man most of us probably know best for portraying Iron Man is back without his famous suit but hopefully with a film which will be just as famous in years to come. The Judge is a courtroom drama but has much more to offer too, this is a story about family and the intricate relationships that come with this.

The Judge is easily one of the best films that we have seen in 2014. Robert Downey Jr once again demonstrates just what a fantastic actor he is. Within this movie he has to be so many different things, a father, a brother, a son, a lawyer, the list goes on. He manages to be flawlessly believable in each of these roles never disappointing or under performing. If you thought RDJ was just Iron Man, The Judge will prove you wrong. RDJ isn’t the only brilliant performer here as The Judge is full of wonderful acting due to a solid cast including Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton and Jeremy Strong. The cast were so great that it was hard to find fault anywhere in this film, they presented the movie so well however there were a few minor elements which I didn’t like. Firstly I thought that some of the court room gasps were slightly over dramatic and the storyline featuring the romantic element just seemed to be there for the sake of it. These miniscule flaws didn’t detract my from my enjoyment though. The ending was really good and I loved the very final scene however I did think the film could have ended a couple of scenes previously, I suppose this just shows the strength of the individual scenes in film though! There are so many really fantastic scenes in the movie, some to make you laugh and some maybe even to make you cry, the scenes are like the film – versatile.

The Judge is a long film but it never ceases to interest you, I never once even thought about checking the time and that is more than can be said for some of the 90 minute movies that I have watched this year. To accompany this running time was some great music, Thomas Newman was responsible for the score and he didn’t disappoint. However musically the highlight had to be the use of Bon Iver’s Holocene at several points in the movie. I was already a massive fan of this song but the use of it in The Judge made me like the film and the song even more. The two fitted together so well and really complemented each other making for some fantastic viewing. The Judge reminded me so much of To Kill A Mockingbird and it even makes reference to it, the courtroom is how I imagined the events of TKAM. This was a nice touch and I enjoyed how they used this in the film. The Judge honestly has so much going for it that it is hard to summarise it in a review. There will most likely be something that you will connect with here and there is no disputing that this is a great film.

“This is the kind of movie I grew up wanting to make.” – Robert Downey Jr. I think it is awesome that RDJ had this dream as he grew up and it is clear to see how much he cared about this project and im so glad to say that it paid off.

BIGGEST FLAW – Romance element felt slightly pointless

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – RDJ’s perfromance

Rating – 9/10