Der Richter - Recht oder Ehre

Der Gerichtssaal und der Vorfall, der in ihm geklärt wird, sind nur eine Tarnung eines Familiendramas, in dem Robert Jr. aus der Großstadt seine Beziehung zu der Familie aus der Kleinstadt, an deren Spitze Robert Sr. steht, erneuert. Mit Rechtsdramen wie Die Jury oder Der Regenmacher kann man es nicht vergleichen. Der Richter - Recht oder Ehre ist auf halbem Weg zwischen ihnen und dem sentimentalen Film Marvins Töchter geblieben. Beide Roberts spielen ausgezeichnet. Zum Junior passt die Rolle perfekt und Senior bewältigt seine ausgezeichnet. Manche Nebenfiguren (die sexy Tochter von Vera Farmiga, der unerfahrene Anwalt Dax Shepard) verlangsamen den Film aber überflüssig. In der Geschichte haben sie keine ausreichende Bedeutung und sie stören nur die Entwicklung der komplizierten und für den Film wichtigen Beziehung Vater/Sohn. Der interessante Anwalt von Billy Bob Thornton könnte in ihm hingegen eine größere Rolle spielen. Die einst neue und erhabene Musik von Thomas Newman (Frank Darabont, Sam Mendes) wird zu einem abgeleierten Synonym vom offensichtlichen und sentimentalen "Streicheln der Seele“ des Konsumpublikums. Was schließlich auch Der Richter - Recht oder Ehre wird. Es ist ein prima Film, aber seine Autoren hätten eine höhere Liga verdient. (29.10.2014)

The only thing this film can offer is good acting. Everything else just undermines it. Firstly, it tells a story about judges and for the most part it takes place in the courtroom. Which doesn’t have to be a drawback in itself, had it been well made. There is only one real courtroom moment, but it’s only at the end of the movie – it represents its climax and is also the only good moment this movie has. Secondly, a huge issue with this movie lies in its running time, which is too long given how little happens in there. Already in the first fifteen minutes you’ll understand the situation and how it will develop. Then it all, surprisingly, happens exactly as it would in real life and the audience has no choice but to wait for the ending. The ending is fortunately really good and shows the acting qualities of Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall and Billy Bob Thornton. Unfortunately, you have to suffer a hundred minutes of boredom to see this. (08.02.2015)

Very good oscillation between a court process and a family drama about establishing a relationship between small town people and city dwellers – portrayed in a graspable and clear enough way, even for the average viewer. You won’t get bored in court and will the family scenes because their timing scenes is great, and you will fully enjoy those few rough peaks of the story. It's a shame about the irrelevant script deviations (the supporting characters), the slightly excessive much sentimentality at the end, and Billy Bob Thornton's unused potential, because his first scene in gives you goosebumps (yes, that scene with the folding glass). Nevertheless, the film achieves the main thing it was supposed to achieve. It's believable, sober, and true to life. Brilliant performances. (21.02.2015)

Ein überflüssig langer Film. Obwohl es auf den ersten Blick so aussieht, dass in ihm viele Figuren sind, über welche man eine Menge erzählen kann, ist genau das Gegenteil der Fall. Alles dreht sich nur um den Vater und den Sohn, während die anderen mehr oder weniger überflüssige oder ungenutzte Personen sind (insbesondere Billy Bob Thornton). Zweieinhalb. (23.03.2015)

The Judge is a quality film that deals mostly with real emotions and is adorned with truly brilliant performances that make it as smooth to watch as the aerial pirouettes of pink elephants after taking LSD, but with the arrival of the closing credits, it leaves us with the feeling that this unique creative line-up deserved something more than this kind of easygoing filmmaking. Downey's scatterbrained egotistical character is irresistible, but unfortunately he represents the only rebellious and prominent element in an otherwise precisely measured process where the fates of the supporting players are irrelevant, while the development of the dramatic relationship between the two central characters sets a cinematic precedent. Duvall gives a terrific performance, of course, but Downey is the one that’s more visible and adds more juice to the story. Everything proceeds and ends as it should, but the forcibly pushed twist with the label "family above all" just doesn’t fit into the overall context full of heartless judgments, remorse and generational disputes. Or maybe it manipulates the witnesses quite blatantly. 70% (20.02.2015)

Der Richter ist praktisch ein therapeutisches Familienportrait, genau an der Grenze zwischen Mainstream-Drama und anspruchsvollem Thriller, der den meisten Zuschauern aufgrund der prominenten Besetzung und der allgemeinen filmischen Vorsicht gefällt. Es gibt nur wenige Kritikpunkte und ich frage mich nur, wie der Film ohne den "Entertainer" Robert Downey Jr. in der Hauptrolle wirken würde. Nach dem ersten Anschauen bin ich größtenteils zufrieden, obwohl ich es mir als solides Drama in einem viel kleineren Maßstab vorstellen könnte, als es letztendlich war - aber ich verstehe, dass dann die meisten Zuschauer abgeschreckt wären. (20.01.2022)

When I actually realize what the movie was about (arrogant big city lawyer returns to his armpit of a hometown to reminisce and bring closure to some of the stages of his awkward youth, mend his relationship with his family, and ultimately defend his father, through which he finds his way to him), I suddenly realize what a horribly murderous 140 minutes it could have been. Except that The Judge has one big notch, and that's Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark again, except with an R-rating so he can swear like a heathen. Besides, his coked-up, neurotic posing, I confess, has never ceased to amuse me. However, I had the feeling all along that the pair of writers were blatantly fighting with each other during the writing process. They often tackle the old American family drama standards, but they take a slightly different approach and sometimes cleverly help themselves in quite original ways, as in the scene of Downey and Duvall arguing over a childhood scrape, which might not have worked so intensely if a hurricane hadn't raged by. On the other hand, again, some of the characters (most often the young lawyer) are in the film to comment on the obvious, and thus advise the viewer. Anyway, Duvall will not be up for an Oscar. (10.02.2015)

Besides the fact that I like movies that deal with relationships between characters you can fall in love with, I also appreciate the fact that in the case of "The Judge", it is an excellent combination of drama and humor. It is not slapstick humor directly, but some scenes are appropriately lighthearted, just like the plot is lightened by some characters. And yet, it remains sufficiently believable. (12.01.2015)