Netflix has added a star-studded legal drama movie

Stephen Porzio

Its cast is led by two Oscar winners.

The Judge, the absolutely star-studded legal drama movie from 2014, has been added to Netflix’s US library.

The film stars Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer) as Hank, a hot shot lawyer living in Chicago whose personal life is a bit of a mess.

After the death of his mother, he returns home to Indiana for the funeral and reconnects with his family – including his brothers Dale (Jeremy Strong, Succession) and Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio, Daredevil) and his estranged and stern father Joseph (Oscar-winner Robert Duvall, The Godfather), who is a local judge.

While there, Hank and Joseph butt heads over past history – leading to the son angrily storming off, vowing never to return home.

Before he can make it to the airport, however, Hank is alerted that his dad has become a suspect in murder case – with the lawyer eventually deciding to represent his father in court.

Also featuring amongst its cast Billy Bob Thornton, Dax Shepard, David Krumholtz, Leighton Meester and Vera Farmiga, The Judge did decent business at the box office but slightly underperformed with critics – receiving mixed reviews and only one Oscar nomination for Duvall.

We’d argue though that it is a very entertaining and watchable movie thanks to its brilliant cast and its mix of family drama and courtroom thriller.

You can read a sample of some of the positive write-ups for the film right here:

The Guardian: “There are plenty of emotional fireworks in this big, soupy but entertaining picture, which is obvious Oscar bait.”

Independent (UK): “For all its contrivances and occasional lapses into On Golden Pond-style mawkishness, this is a richly crafted yarn that boasts barnstorming, if very showy performances from Duvall and Downey Jr.”

LeonardMaltin.com: “There are many good moments and striking scenes in ‘The Judge’ but, most of all, it’s an actor’s showcase.”

New York Post: “Just watching snarky Chicago lawyer Robert Downey Jr. spar with crotchety father Robert Duvall as he tries to defend the small-town Indiana jurist on a murder rap is worth the price of admission.”

RogerEbert.com: “The material showcases the lead actors’ strengths. Downey’s is hyper-verbal glibness with a black sheep’s injured sadness in his eyes. Duvall’s is grizzled authority undercut by the infirmities of age.”

The Judge is streaming on Netflix in the US right now. While it’s not available in Ireland and the UK as of yet, it is available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play, Rakuten TV and the Sky Store.