The Last Castle

UK Release Date. 4 January 2002
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 11 mins
Director. Rod Lucie
Cast. Clifton Collins Jr, James Gandolfini, Delro Lindo, Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo.
Rating. 50%

Review.

The supremely talented Robert Redford has an impressive filmography behind him - including Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Sting, All The President's Men, The Natural and All Is Lost - but The Last Castle is not one of them.

The film is ridiculously formulaic. A battle of wills between two strong-willed characters - the honourable, former Lieutenant General Eugene Irwin (Robert Redford), now imprisoned in a military prison and watched over by the sadisitic warden, Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini). Almost inevitably, the innate moral authority of Eugene Irwin rallies the prisoners behind him and he leads a clandestine uprising against the cruel and corrupt regime.

The Last Castle revels in its message of patriotism, pride and honour, even if this honour is among those convicted of serious military offences. Given the talent of Robert Redford and James Gandolfini, I expected a bit more than the film delivers. James Gandolfini, in particular, struggles with the character and the vapid dialogue, becoming at times nothing more than a two-dimensional cliché with lines. 

A major disappointment.