Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Last Castle (2001)
Director: Rod Lurie
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A prison movie with military trappings, this feels like something Hollywood might have made with Burt Lancaster or Gregory Peck during the Cold War. Director Lurie evidently believes in heroes, and he's found his perfect actor in Redford. He stars as Gen Eugene Irwin, who is court-martialled and thrown in military prison - to the awe of Col Winter (Gandolfini), the tinpot in charge. 'They should be naming a base after him, not sending him here,' he marvels. Irwin has served in 'Nam, the Gulf and Bosnia. He's 'a great man' who's 'done so much for the country' that his fellow prisoners genuflect. He just wants to do his time and keep his nose clean, but he's appalled by Winter's petty tyrannies, his callous disregard for human life, and the two are soon locked in an escalating battle for control of the inmates. Like most prison movies, this is broadly anti-authoritarian. But Lurie is so devoted to Irwin's 'enlightened' authority, he has ended up making a deeply conservative film, not to mention a ludicrous one, which at one particular low point involves an impromptu prisonyard rendition of 'The Halls of Montezuma'.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Rod Lurie
Producer: Robert Lawrence
Cast: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Clifton Collins Jr, Delroy Lindo, Steve Burton, Paul Calderon, Samuel Ball, Robin Wright Penn full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 131 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now