When a lifelong smartass-turned-superhero dips an insolent toe into tear-jerker territory, there's bound to be blowback. But that's a risk that Robert Downey Jr., the top-paid actor in Hollywood for two years running, can afford to take. In the case of "The Judge," it pretty much pays off, with a hefty assist from elder statesman Robert Duvall.

As Hank Palmer, a Chicago defense attorney as jaded as he is successful, Downey trots out the fast-talking, charming-jerk routine he can perform on autopilot. Hank returns home to small-town Indiana for his mother's funeral following years of estrangement due to a major rift with his crusty, overly stern father, the local judge. Instead of trying to heal wounds with his black-sheep son, Dad (Duvall) makes devastating comments like "I wish I liked you more."

Hank has more luck reconnecting with his brothers, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), a former baseball hero, and camera-happy Dale (Jeremy Strong), hovering somewhere near the high end of the autism spectrum, as well as his sassy high-school honey, Samantha (Vera Farmiga).

Hank is on a plane headed home when he finds out that Dad — who happens to be keeping some mighty serious health secrets — has run down and killed a bicyclist on a dark, rainy road, though he can't remember doing so. When the victim turns out to be a ne'er-do-well and long-ago nemesis, the judge is charged with murder.

Knowing that his father's first choice for defense (Dax Shepard) is too green for the case, Hank steps in, facing an impeccably tailored, formidably visaged Billy Bob Thornton for the prosecution. Things may wind up as you suspected they would, creaky heartstring manipulations and all, but getting there isn't entirely predictable. One scene in particular, in which Hank helps the judge through an extremely vulnerable moment at home, gutsily portrays chronic illness with the stark realism it is seldom afforded.

"The Judge" is the first project for Team Downey, a new production company RDJ formed with his wife, Susan Downey. As the opening film at the Toronto Film Festival last month, it got a critical reaction more tepid than it deserves. Watching these two powerhouses with opposite styles square off is worthwhile, and the story is also more satisfying than any screen adaptation of John Grisham bestsellers has been thus far. Director David Dobkin, previously known for such paeans of pathos as the callow comedy "The Wedding Crashers," may be a bit clumsy out of the gate with more sensitive material, but wisely gives his seasoned cast a lot of rope.

Hank (Robert Downey Jr.) defends his father (Robert Duvall) in “The Judge.”

The script by Minnesota native Nick Schenk, his first major project to see daylight since his 2009 breakthrough "Gran Torino," got a bit of a rewrite from newcomer Bill Dubuque, but it might have been tightened up more. As fetching as Farmiga is to watch, the extraneous flirtation takes up more than its share of screen time, as does the forced insertion of a visit from Hank's endearing but unnecessary daughter, stretching the film a good 20 minutes longer than it needs to be.

Kristin Tillotson • 612-673-7046