I had very low expectations for The Judge. From the look of the trailers and based on the reviews, I expected this movie to be boring and clichéd. Well, I'm glad to say that The Judge is a pleasant surprise, but it is nowhere near perfect. The story follows big city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) as he tries to protect his troubled father (Robert Duvall) from going to jail on account of murder. The plot of this movie is actually quite good, with some very touching moments and occasional humour. The biggest problem with this movie, though, is just how incredibly clichéd and predictable it is. Every single father-son drama cliché shows up somewhere in this movie at one point. It was a very by-the-numbers drama with absolutely no surprises along the way. I also guessed the ending from the first five minutes and got it completely right. The acting in this movie is marvellous. Robert Duvall is fantastic and Robert Downey Jr. is as quirky as ever. They have amazing father-son chemistry that really proves how great actors they really are. The supporting cast are mostly pretty good except for a few supporting characters. Billy Bob Thorton was amazing, but we barely see any of him at all. I would have loved to see his character more throughout the movie. This movie is surprisingly very well directed, with some gorgeous cinematography. The musical score is great and it is pretty well edited. However, at a whopping 2 hours and 20 minutes, this movie is at least a half hour too long. It is pretty well paced, but some scenes felt totally useless and unneeded. There was also a terrible romantic subplot that was overlong and underdeveloped. The Judge is overlong and extremely clichéd, but that doesn't stop it from being a good movie. See it if you're interested in the premise or the actors. RATING: 7.5/10.
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