Director Rob Lurie teams up with acting legend Robert Redford and rising star James Gandolfini in what looks like a promising picture. However, "The Last Castle" immediately and repeatedly relies on generic prison movie formula whenever a plot movement is needed, and by doing so does not capitalize on its superb acting and the fortunate timing of its release.
The movie begins when the legendary General Irwin (Redford) arrives at jail; he steps off the bus alone and in plain view of all the inmates. Naturally, everyone bets on when this man will break and commit suicide - the only reason for this is that it's jail, and bets have to be placed on the new guy. But of course, Irwin proves all the inmates wrong. He quickly angers Colonel Winter (Gandolfini) and wins the respect of all the prisoners by completing his punishment of carrying rocks back and forth for a day.
Then a funny thing happens. Suddenly this prison full of violent rapists and murderers procure hearts of gold and become playful pawns in the hands of their new leader, ready to rise up against Winter and earn back their self-respect. Again, this seems to happen just because it is a prison movie. As such, the warden must be evil and the inmates must take over his prison to feel good about themselves again.
For some reason I don't think military veterans would be distraught over some light manual labor and the use of a water hose to break up rioting. Certainly Colonel Winter could do far worse than shoot rubber bullets at rioters or make a prisoner stand in the rain for a night because he broke the rule of no saluting in prison.
Despite the generic story and some outrageous plot holes, the movie was well acted and stylish enough to almost make me forget its numerous flaws and play along. Almost.
James Gandolfini, of "Sopranos" fame, is convincing as Colonel Winter, the insecure and paper pushing overseer of a maximum-security military prison. Gandolfini effectively breaks his stigma as a tough, confident mobster with the use of subtle lisps, sunken posture and sheepish looks. It is clear he is both in awe and threatened by the presence of the famed General Irwin. Redford gives his usual strong performance, and his affable image effectively glosses over the fact that his character is perhaps even more manipulating and egotistical than Gandolfini's.
Despite the acting and some memorable dialogue, I couldn't help but feel violated by director Rob Lurie's style of clearly pulling all the emotional strings he can on the audience. But I felt most cheated by the plotting of the movie. For instance, this movie seems to teach us that it is possible to conveniently tuck a 30-foot tall catapult into a snug alley in a maximum-security prison without one guard taking notice. It is also evidently feasible to crash a helicopter from a height of 50 feet, roll it around on the ground a few dozen times with flames licking at your body and still come out with only a minor scratch on your head. Such stunts might be acceptable in a Stallone picture, but not in a movie that purports to be a serious drama. The writers (David Scarpa and Graham Yost) also make no attempt to explain how the prisoners stockpile explosives, catapults and dinner trays. Yes that's right, dinner trays. It would seem that dinner trays used as shields are very effective defense mechanisms. At least in this prison they are.
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"The Last Castle" also has perhaps the most dispensable subplot I have ever seen. Redford's daughter (Robin Wright Penn) visits him in jail at the beginning of the movie and chastises him for never being there for her. She leaves and never appears again, only sending him a picture of his grandson. And that is it. There's your subplot. Irwin later vows to the prisoners that he will never fight again, he just wants to go home and live out his life with his grandson. Apparently the writers could not resolve this aspect of Irwin's character because it is noticeably dropped. Conveniently enough, Irwin becomes the prisoners' leader and takes up the crusade of the prison anyway.
This movie could have been a meaningful and emotionally involving story.
However, it relies on formula far too frequently and its gaping plot holes and overt attempts to invoke sympathy sink it to the level of a preachy, mediocre film. That being said, it will have its fans, and it will make its money. Redford and Gandolfini do not disappoint, and the movie pushes enough appropriate patriotic buttons during a time of national crisis that one might be able to overlook its flaws. If you're in a patriotic fervor and are willing to abandon reason, then go see this movie immediately. Barring this, I would suggest waiting for "The Last Castle" to come out on video. Even then, if you want a prison movie of more substance, you'd be better off renting "Shawshank Redemption" or "A Bridge Over the River Kwai."
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