Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoThe Last Castle
December 6th 2006 08:25
A good, cracking prison/POW-style film. I like prison films; the inevitable battle of wills, the characters, the quiet rebelling... it's all great stuff on film. 'The Last Castle' plays on the genre by mixing it up a bit. The prison in question is a military prison, giving it the aforementioned POW-feel in terms of characters, and our main man (Redford) happens to be a General-turned-prisoner. WOAH! Pretty cool, eh? Sorry, I'm getting excited.
Okay, there's nothing really special about this film I guess. It's just a really good, entertaining action/gaol film. There are a few twists, but nothing groundbreaking or anything like that. Redford's General has a fine battle of wills with the head warden, a desk-bound Colonel (James Gandolfini) who can't help but respect his quarry. There's an attempt to morally justify the prisoners' would-be rebellion but it's all balls, and I wasn't too worried as long as it continued to entertain me... Why do we always have to have some sort of ethical justification forced into our faces? It's a film about bloody criminals, just get on with it!
Gandolfini steals the film, he gives a more even, methodical/careful performance in comparison to his Tony Soprano, and continues to prove (to this reviewer, at least) what a great and subtle actor he is. Redford's General seems a little off though, he's too genial and flippant (especially regarding his war crime) and the respect he commands from the other prisoners seems to come mainly from his rank, and not his demeanour.
I'm not going to criticise this film too much though, as I had a lot of fun watching it. It's fairly solid in terms of plot, has a great look to it and is one of the better 'action'-style films I've seen lately.
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