Summary
-
The Judge
gains new popularity on Netflix, showcasing Robert Downey Jr.’s acting skills alongside a stellar ensemble cast. - Despite mixed reviews upon release, the 2014 drama starring Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall finds success with audiences on the streaming platform.
- Downey Jr.’s career resurgence, highlighted by recent successes like
The Sympathizer
and an Oscar win, may be a contributing factor to the movie’s resurgence.
Robert Downey Jr. is finding success on Netflix with a surprising movie as his divisive 2014 legal drama The Judge rose through the ranks of the streamer’s best performing movies of the last few days. While it has not managed to dethrone Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop Tarts movie Unfrosted, the film has been sitting in second position on the U.S. movie chart for several days.
Downey Jr. is currently appearing in the miniseries The Sympathizer on Max, and while that show has been receiving plenty of acclaim, a decade ago, Downey Jr. was cited as one of the few high points of The Judge, which was otherwise categorized by many critics as “worthy of nothing more than being cable afternoon-viewing.”
The Judge
- Release Date
- October 8, 2014
- Runtime
- 141
- Tagline
- Defend your home.
The Judge brought in an ensemble cast alongside the Iron Man actor, including veteran Robert Duvall – who earned several award nominations for his role as the titular character – Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton. The synopsis of the movie reads:
“Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a brilliant but shady attorney, returns to his Indiana hometown after learning that his mother has passed away. His arrival triggers renewed tension between himself and his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who makes no secret of his disapproval of Hank’s morally ambiguous career. As the lawyer prepares to depart, his father is arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank takes on his father’s defense, despite the objections of the resentful old man.”
The movie was by no means a failure at the box office, with a worldwide gross of $84.4 million from a $45 million budget, but when it came to critical reviews, the verdict did not go in the movie’s favor. Landing a 49% Tomatometer score, which included several reviews that highly commended Downey Jr. and Duvall’s performances, but couldn’t get past the over-clichéd plot and execution of the film. Despite that, audiences were kinder to the film, giving it an approval rating of 72%. Like many movies, it seems that the film is now getting a second wind thanks to Netflix.
Robert Downey Jr. is on a Career High
While there are several possible reasons for The Judge’s appearance on Netflix’s most popular movies list, Downey Jr.’s current standing in Hollywood could well be one of them. Having spent decades rebuilding his career after his very public fall from grace, the actor has overcome the odds to reach the pinnacle of what has been a colorful journey in the movie industry.
The Best Robert Downey Jr. Movies Where He’s Not Playing Iron Man
Away from flying suits and repulsor beams, RDJ has shown tremendous range as an actor, showing there is to his stardom than just his time in the MCU.
This year saw Downey Jr. follow up his many years of success as Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – which has eternally endeared him to a whole new legion of fans – with an Oscar win for his supporting role in Christopher Nolan’s 2023 blockbuster biography, Oppenheimer. Now, with the actor also being highly praised for his work in HBO’s The Sympathizer, it seems that Downey Jr. is on a new upward trajectory that a couple of decades ago seemed to be the most impossible outcome.
The Judge
is streaming on Netflix, while
The Sympathizer
is available on Max.
