The Last Castle

The Last Castle is a traditional prison drama that could well have been made many years ago, but since 11 September 2001 Hollywood has given high priority to films about patriotism, courage and honour.

When the highly decorated and admired General Eugene Irwin is sentenced to 10 years in prison for disobeying orders, he is sent to the military prison "The Castle" to serve his sentence. He is welcomed by the prison commandant, Colonel Winter, who quite clearly feels inferior to Irwin.

Winter uses rather brutal methods to control the prisoners. Irwin is deeply opposed to his treatment of the prisoners, but he has decided to keep a low profile. In the long run, however, he cannot turn a deaf ear to the injustices, and he decides to work towards toppling Winter's regime.

Irwin quickly wins the respect and trust of his fellow prisoners. In response, Winter tries to bring Irwin to heel, but he refuses to be cowed. The enmity culminates in a prison revolt carried out with military precision and discipline. Very much against his original intention, Irwin once again has soldiers under his command - for the last time.

The Last Castle entertains from start to finish, but its nauseatingly patriotic ending is hard to swallow, and the lead roles that carry the conflict are too one-dimensional. Robert Redford is the hero incarnate, and James Gandolfino ends up as an out-and-out psychopath.