The Judge
Warner Bros. | Release Date: October 10, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
21
Negative:
6
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedOct 8, 2014
Equal parts courtroom drama, legal thriller and family saga, it’s also a synchronized duet for two terrific actors at the top of their craft that left me stunned. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 10, 2014
Speaking of committed: Duvall, at age 83, nearly steals the show. Always the most inscrutable of the great ’70s actors, Duvall uses his great, unassuming American face to convey pride, confusion, pain and compassion — sometimes all at once. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickOct 11, 2014
Overlong and sometimes schmaltzy — but still hugely engaging. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 9, 2014
Beethoven once went five years without composing. Until now, Downey has gone five years without making anything close to a serious movie. The bigger waste of time was Beethoven’s, but talent wasted is talent wasted. This is the type of film Downey should be making. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 9, 2014
Despite playing with a stacked deck, The Judge is guilty of exceeding expectations. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 8, 2014
What makes the film more than just a dusty Grisham retread is that the case (as compelling as it is) is merely the backdrop for a more emotionally engaging story about fathers and sons played, like a duet, by two virtuoso actors who give the film not only all they have but probably more than it requires. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 9, 2014
However unwieldy the final result, Dobkin and company deserve credit for helping Duvall and Downey create vibrant, dramatic characters that involve the performers in rousing, stem-winder ways. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaOct 10, 2014
Sure, there's a witty reference to another, vastly more momentous legal drama (To Kill a Mockingbird, Robert Duvall's film debut). And yes, Farmiga gets to call out Downey, and stay in character, for "that hyper-verbal vocabulary vomit thing that you do." Small pleasures, in a bigger mess. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 9, 2014
Two words that come to mind when considering The Judge are generic and predictable. It's also well-intentioned and earnest (perhaps to a fault). Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 9, 2014
A slick, ripsnorting character drama whose artistic ambitions are consistently neutralized by its commercial imperatives, puts Downey in a box from which even he can’t escape. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaOct 9, 2014
An unabashedly adult drama and a steadfastly old-fashioned one. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 9, 2014
Of the 141 minutes in The Judge, roughly 70 work well, hold the screen and allow a ripe ensemble cast the chance to do its thing, i.e., act. The other 71 are dominated by narrative machinery going ka-THUNKITA-thunkita-thunkita. Read full review
60
EmpireDamon WiseOct 13, 2014
A great cast and promising premise get swamped in an awkward mix of airport-novel noir and blokey family melodrama. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 8, 2014
Sure, these roles aren't exactly a stretch, with Duvall being crotchety and Downey being sharp-witted. But that familiarity is part of the appeal. They're good at this. Really good. After all, as has been noted, they're not movie stars for nothing. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonDave CalhounSep 5, 2014
A charismatic performance from Downey Jr and the growling presence of Duvall makes up for a multitude of sins in this big and brash family drama that puts the heavy emphasis on drama over family. Read full review
60
VarietyJustin ChangSep 5, 2014
The Judge pivots on a simple yet inspired stroke of casting, pitting Duvall’s iconic gravitas against Downey’s razor-sharp wit, and then supplying no shortage of opportunities for both men to chew the scenery. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallOct 10, 2014
The reason this overstuffed movie remains tolerable is the inspired casting of Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. as a combative father and son, and their determination to out-thespian each other. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 10, 2014
There is nothing surprising about the way this overlong movie, written and directed by David Dobkin, plays itself out. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 8, 2014
The movie isn’t without its pleasures, most of them related to performance. Farmiga, a perennially underrated actor, gives Samantha a measured confidence that sets Hank’s manic cockiness on edge, and Billy Bob Thornton does an effective variation on a slimy archetype as the prosecutor, Dwight Dickham. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinOct 10, 2014
In The Judge, a legal drama that builds to the requisite Hollywood Dark Night of the Soul, Robert Downey Jr. has a role so far inside his comfort zone that the movie has no drive, no urgency. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianJeff BakerOct 9, 2014
Thornton restrains himself (especially compared to Downey and Duvall) until his cross-examination of Duvall, when he throws off that "Fargo" menacing restraint and throws it down. You go, Billy Bob! Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 9, 2014
Director David Dobkin, best known for comedies such as "Shanghai Nights" and "Wedding Crashers," demonstrates his serious intent mostly by paint-by-numbers psychology and a ponderous pace. Read full review
50
TheWrapInkoo KangOct 9, 2014
The Judge is tailor-made for Downey's gift for delivering a quippy, arrogant put-down like he's doing his target a favor. Hank's anti-heroism is a refreshing splash of lemon juice with an occasional spritz of sour vinegar. But much of director David Dobkin‘s cynically cloying legal and family drama goes down like a lump of aspartame. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 9, 2014
The actual case isn’t all that complex or compelling, and the eventual explanation for what happened is almost an afterthought. By the time all the ghosts and feuds have been put to rest, it’s surprising how little we care about these characters. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 9, 2014
A classic example of a second-rate courtroom drama. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirOct 9, 2014
The Judge is watchable but thoroughly specious. It’s dull and reassuring, an infantile fantasy of homecoming and forgiveness set in a mythical version of America no one in the target audience has ever seen. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 5, 2014
The Judge is well served by intense performances from stars Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, but is undercut by obvious note-hitting in the writing and a deliberate pace that drags things out about twenty minutes past their due date. Read full review
42
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthSep 5, 2014
The Judge has the curious ability of straining too hard while managing to say nothing dramatically. Read full review
40
The DissolveKeith PhippsOct 8, 2014
The Judge ultimately plays less like a film than a series of big moments, some of which work well. Downey, Duvall, Farmiga, D’Onofrio, and Thornton aren’t known for making dull choices, and they often dig out nuance where others wouldn’t find it. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 8, 2014
The Judge gives the sense of resting on its casting laurels. Read full review
40
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekOct 7, 2014
The Judge has its funny moments but is far more serious at heart, and much more of a slog, too. Read full review
40
The TelegraphJane MulkerrinsSep 5, 2014
There are also moments of more sincere family dynamics, which elevate the production beyond a hackneyed made-for-television movie. But they are too few to prevent a guilty conviction for Dobkin: first-degree, low-grade schlock. Read full review
40
The GuardianCatherine ShoardSep 5, 2014
The Judge is a timeless film, in that it could have been made at almost any point over the past 80 years: rote plot, functional support, well-signalled twists. It’s a two-seater star vehicle offering little legroom for other passengers. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 9, 2014
How did talent like this conspire to pump out such bilge? I mean, really. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreOct 7, 2014
A bloated all-star melodrama with none of the lean, mean legalese of a John Grisham adaptation, it’s a showboat’s movie cast with a lot of actors each promised “a big, cool scene.” Read full review
33
HitfixDrew McWeenySep 5, 2014
The Judge is risible Hollywood dreck, a star vehicle with nothing genuine driving it, and at 142 minutes, it is nearly impossible to defend. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 9, 2014
Various secrets come dribbling out... They add up to a sprawl of narrative that is as unconvincing as the suspiciously sprawl-free, nostalgia-tinged town where it all takes place. Read full review
25
Film.comJordan HoffmanSep 9, 2014
“Expendables 3” has fewer nauseating clichés than The Judge. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineChris CabinOct 8, 2014
One long trial of moral duty, and one that excuses repugnant behavior and psychological warfare in lieu of a repetitive, condescending sermon on honoring thy father. Read full review
More From This Movie

48 Critic Reviews

7.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL