By CHRIS PUNTO & NATALIE SACKET
Columnists
This fall break we got to watch “The Judge”. Not only did we do that, but now we get to judge it for ourselves. Not funny? No? Okay then.
“The Judge” (2014)
Natalie’s Review-
3.5 gavels
I consider myself a fairly good “judge” of movies by this point, and I deem “The Judge” guilty of bringing me to tears.
The storyline is unique, yet relatable to likely a large portion of the audience. I know I found myself relating portions of the movie to events in my life. While a majority of the film had an argumentative and tense tone, the overlying theme is one of overcoming and forgiveness, a message many may need to hear.
This heartfelt film is led by an all-star cast that is sure to draw you into the film. Robert Downey Jr. ditches his iron man suit and dons the three-piece suit of a high-class lawyer. His character, however, is very akin to Iron Man, minus super strength and the ability to fly. He’s very confident, snarky, brash and quick-witted. With a menagerie of quick one-liners and brazen remarks, Downey leads the cast through the story of pain, regret, and redemption.
My only downside to this movie was that is very long, and I felt every minute of this film. Don’t come to this movie sleepy, as I did. However, that didn’t make me appreciate the film any less.
Bottom Line: The verdict is that “The Judge” is a quality film, well worth your time.
Chris’ Review-
4 out of 5 gavels
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that it’s weird that I gave another movie a good review. Well, I did tell you that all the good movies are about to start flooding in.
Watching “The Judge” was a great experience for me because I got to see Robert Downey Jr. back in one of his more natural elements. Since I wasn’t a movie nut before Downey got his break with “Iron Man,” I never got to see what it was like to watch one of his movies come out when he was popular back in the day. Not very many people know this but before “Iron Man,” Downey was almost poor because of all those bad decisions that eventually catch up with us (a lesson for all to think about).
The acting was pretty solid; I never once felt like I could not relate to the movie. That might be because my family is a bit complicated, but I digress. The plot kept my interest — not in the way that “Gone Girl” kept me captivated, but I still wanted to see what happened next.
The only complaint I would have about this film was that it seemed to be a bit disorganized. I felt like there were clear concepts and ideas we were trying to get, but the screenwriters didn’t know where to put them in the film. For example, there is a brother who is a bit slow and the film tried to show pity for him but they didn’t know how to do so without making the film more like “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”
Bottom line is that I really enjoyed this film. Do I think it’ll get an Oscar? Probably not, but it could be a wild card. If your family is a little messed up, I feel like you too could relate to this film. And even if you have the perfect “Full House” kind of family, well watch this movie to see what the rest of us deal with.