Damaged Justice in The Judge

Here’s an awesome-for-obvious-reasons screen grab from the the upcoming flick The Judge. Robert Downey Jr. stars as a big city hot-shot lawyer (is there any other kind?)  who returns to the small town where he grew up. He’s unhappily reunited with his estranged family after the passing of his mother. With dramatic elements already at full tilt, he then finds out his father, the town’s judge, has been accused of murder. Damaged Justice indeed.

Even in what looks to be a tear-jerker Downey still manages to slip into some some heavy metal attire (thanks to costume designer Marlene Stewart.) My gut tells me he finds the tee in his old room and perhaps his choice in music was one of the many sticking points between him and his strict father. So he puts on the tee and sets out on a bike ride and goes hands-free in an act of youthful rebellion. Hopefully he proves his father’s innocence and in the final scene they embrace. But here’s the kicker: this time his father is wearing a Metallica ..And Justice For All tee. “One” starts playing in the background and the credits roll while I reach for a box of tissues.

This isn’t the first time a vintage Metallica tee has made a plot topical cameo. In A Place Beyond The Pines Ryan Gosling wore a  Metallica Ride The Lightning tee and was loosely used as dialogue in the film.

Downey also sported a vintage Black Sabbath tee in The Avengers. And he doesn’t just wear vintage behind the camera – as previously reported he’s been spotted in public sporting vintage band tees.

Downey is the man.

Check out our Metallica Justice tees here.

Check out the last vintage Fugazi t-shirt cameo in Mud.