The Netflix Legal Crime Mystery Thriller With The Biggest Marvel Star Ever

The Judge reveals Robert Downey Jr as capable of showing deep emotion as an actor. He stars as Henry “Hank” Palmer, a hot-shot lawyer in Chicago well-known for defending rich dirtbags… and winning. In the opening scene, he has a showdown in the bathroom with opposing counsel Mike Kattan, played by the always great David Krumholtz, and Hank pees on Mike’s shoes.

Back in court, Hank gets an urgent call that his mother has died, and he rushes out of the courtroom and flies home for her funeral. But first, he warns his cheating “hot young wife” that their 10-year-old daughter will be living with him after the divorce. The rest of the movie unfolds in Hank’s hometown of Carlinville, Indiana, where his father, Joseph Palmer, played by Robert Duvall, has been a criminal court judge for the past 42 years. 

He arrives at his family home and is greeted by his two brothers, Glen, the oldest, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, and Dale, the slightly dim-witted youngest brother, played by Jeremy Strong. You can tell right away that the brothers grew up close but that Hank has been away for a long time. It turns out he’s been absent from his hometown for 20 years.

When their father enters the scene, the emotions are instantly heightened. The relationship between Hank and Judge Palmer is clearly strained, but we have no idea why. There are a few difficult encounters, with the two brothers constantly intervening between Hank and their dad, and Hank seems relieved to finally be done with the funeral, say goodbye to his mother, and board his flight back home.

While he is on the plane, he gets another phone call. This time, Glen is calling to tell Hank that the judge has been arrested for murder. Robert Downey Jr. does a brilliant job from this point in the film, trying to defend his father in court and reconcile his feelings with his dad. Hank discovers his father has cancer, and he nurses him through the illness, all while fighting, sometimes violently, with him over the past, present, and future. 

Robert Duvall is at his best in his performance as a holier-than-thou judge and father of three boys, trying to do what’s right, trying to have compassion, and also trying to see justice served. You can feel the pain and the passion burning from both men, and you want so badly to see them reconciled. There is clearly love between them and a deep bond, but it’s been horribly broken, and it takes us all the way to the end of the two-hour movie and the end of the court case to understand why. 

It’s a great film, if a bit slow at times. And sure, the supporting characters’ lives and histories are not well-developed, but there’s so much going on in this story that there simply wasn’t room for more. Still, all the figures in this film are likable, right down to Hank’s high school sweetheart, played by a lovely Vera Farmiga, and Hank’s opposing counsel in his dad’s case, played by Billy Bob Thornton. 

REVIEW SCORE

I give The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. 4 stars out of 5 and encourage you to check it out for yourself on Netflix the next chance you get. But be warned, it might have you calling up an estranged relative to try to make amends. It’s that powerful.