At no point in this movie does Robert Downey Jr don the Iron Man suit and shoot someone. I know, I thought that they might just slip one in, but they didn't. Instead, they concentrate on a very heavy story about the strained relationship between a man and his overbearing father. The levels of hate that Robert spews toward his father (played by Robert Duvall) really makes you wonder why he makes some of his questionable choices. I'll explain.
See, we start off with RDJ being shown as a big time, really expensive lawyer with a marriage (to Sarah Lancaster, the sister from Chuck) that is going down the drain. He has to leave the big city to go back to the small town (that he does not like) where he grew up to attend his mother's funeral. It is here that we meet the family. It includes the family man older brother, the mentally challenged younger brother, and the cantankerous father.
The father, a respected local judge, then gets accused of something pretty terrible. Obviously it's up to the hot shot lawyer to get him out of it while battling the old man's demons and his unwavering sense of morality. Unfortunately, the judge also doesn't have a lot of confidence or trust in his son, so they have to work through those issues while they are at it. And a love interest? Oh, you bet they bring in a love interest.
RDJ does a very good job with his role, but it's pretty much the character that Tony Stark would have been if his dad was a judge in a small town, and he had decided to become a lawyer. In fact, his girlfriend even comments about the way he talks really fast when he is nervous... pretty sure it's the same thing that he does as Tony or the same thing he does as Sherlock.
Acting was excellent
Story was good
Dialogue was good
Pace was actually suitable
Direction was very good
Bottom Line: A good, solid drama with excellent performances.
4.0/5