Summary
The Judge
, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, ranked seventh on Netflix’s Top 10 chart with 12.5M hours viewed.
At its release,
The Judge
received mixed reviews but was praised for the performances of Downey Jr. and Duvall.
Despite criticism of being clichéd, Downey Jr. and Duvall’s performances in
The Judge
have endured and gained interest.
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The Judge nabs a Top 10 spot on Netflix’s global chart. The 2014 legal drama follows a morally ambiguous lawyer (played by Robert Downey Jr.) who returns to his hometown where his father and the local judge (played by Robert Duvall) is accused of murder, and as he seeks to uncover the truth, he reconnects with his estranged family. Other than Downey Jr. and Duvall, The Judge cast also includes Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton.
Now, a decade after its release, Downey Jr.’s legal drama has nabbed a spot on Netflix’s global chart. For the week of April 29-May 5, The Judge ranked seventh on Netflix’s Global Top 10 with 12.5 million hours viewed and 5.3 million individual views. It ranked below the new documentary Secrets of the Neanderthals in sixth place, marking both films’ first week in the Top 10, though Shrek finished in eighth place, marking its eighth consecutive week on the chart.
Related The Judge Ending Explained
The Judge touches on several different genres, from mystery to drama, and its many plot threads come together neatly for its emotional ending.
How Was The Judge Received?
At the time of its release in 2014, The Judge reviews were mostly mixed. While critics praised the performances of Downey Jr. and Duvall, along with composer Thomas Newman’s old-fashioned musical score, they criticized the film’s predictable story and underdeveloped supporting characters. As a result, The Judge has a 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, though the film fared better with audiences, earning a 72% score from that group. At the box office, The Judge was neither a notable success nor failure, earning $84.4 million against its mid-sized $45–50 million budget.
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Judge’s Critics Consensus calls it “solidly cast and beautifully filmed but thoroughly clichéd,” as it “seems destined to preside over a large jurisdiction of the basic cable afternoon-viewing circuit.” This criticism could actually explain why The Judge has become a streaming success on Netflix. Audiences could also be revisiting The Judge on Netflix after Downey Jr. recently won his first Academy Award for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer
is streaming on Peacock.
While Downey Jr. just recently won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, it was Duvall who was nominated for the same award for his eponymous performance in The Judge. However, that year, Duvall went on to lose the award to J.K. Simmons for his performance as an abusive jazz instructor in Whiplash. Now, a decade later, The Judge has nabbed a spot on Netflix’s Global Top 10, showcasing the enduring interest in Downey Jr. and Duvall’s performances despite the mixed reviews.
The Judge
is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Netflix
The Judge
In the 2014 drama The Judge, Robert Downey Jr. stars as successful lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his hometown to defend his estranged father, Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), a judge accused of murder. Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Billy Bob Thornton, and Leighton Meester round out the rest of the main cast.
Director David Dobkin
Release Date October 10, 2014
Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Writers David Dobkin
Runtime 141minutes
Budget $45–50 million
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