The Judge stars Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall as well as a host of A-grade talent in the supporting cast.

When big-city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his small hometown for his mother’s funeral it brings back a host of emotion lead by the rift between Hank and his father - the town’s judge.

After the funeral, the judge is involved in a car accident and accused of intentionally running down and murdering a citizen.

Forced to stay in town and defend his father, Hank has to work on the relationships he abandoned as well as his father’s defence.

Downey Jr is predictably charming, fast-talking and witty in this film .

It is nothing new for audiences who have seen him disarm people (both physically and intellectually) as Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.

What is new is seeing Downey Jr beginning to expand his roles beyond heroes and detectives. Opposite Duvall he builds an intriguing character, with a lot of issues.

For Duvall this is one of his most prominent roles in many years and he relishes the responsibility of leading Downey Jr and the rest of the cast through an enticing plot and eventually a confronting court room experience.

Vera Faminga plays Hank’s old flame, Vincent D’Onofrio (known for his role in Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket) is the older brother stuck in a small town and Billy Bob Thornton is the lawyer hired to try and put the judge behind bars.

Leighton Meester, Dax Shepard and Jeremy Strong also put in performance with a light heart to offset the rest of the family’s dramas.

The Judge is very well put together and, for people who like a courtroom drama, very engaging to watch.

But it is long, especially when director David Dobkin lets Downey Jr reminisce and reconnect with past relationships.

Dobkin has also stepped away from his usual genre to direct The Judge. He has previously directed films including Wedding Crashers and Friends With Benefits.

His inexperience with top-shelf drama is clear with a film that is almost two-and-a-half hours long as opposed to a neat 120 minutes where it probably should be.

But outside of all the nitpicking, The Judge is definitely worth the ticket price.

The performances from the whole of the cast are strong, as is the cinematography that is forced to jump between courtroom functionality and the nostalgia of returning home.

The Judge (M) is now showing at Bendigo Cinemas. 

See page 3 of the Bendigo Advertiser for session details.

Follow film reviewer Chris Pelder on Twitter @FilmNerdChris