10 Awesome Movies You Won't Believe Got A Rotten Rating On RottenTomatoes

8. The Judge

Tomatometer Rating: 47% The Judge is Robert Downey, Jr.'s film. Not just because the biggest actor in Hollywood is kicking off his own production company, Team Downey, with the legal family drama, but because without him as the star it would crumble. Robert Duvall may appear in an incredibly naked role, yet it's RDJ's performance that really stands out. Hank Palmer is a cocky, successful lawyer with a complicated and legally troubling past, which initially seems like a typical post-rehab role for the actor. However, it's the emotional grounding he hides underneath that for much of the film, letting the parallels to his real life be a secondary concern, that really make things work. And thankfully he's rarely off screen, so when we trot through the usual law drama clichés and inconsistent care for accuracy, it's all undercut by a strong screen presence. The problem with the film is that it clearly desires to be a character drama, yet comes across a little slight, only putting the time into properly exploring two of a fairly large cast; Billy Bob Thornton and Vera Farmiga are left with little to do in what could have been interesting characters. This was central to much of the film's criticism, but to dwell on that distracts from Lawyer Stark.