Redford stars as a 3-Star General who is wrongfully Court Martialed and sentenced to a somewhat harsh prison for ex-soldiers.  James Gandolfin stars as the hard-nosed and sometimes downright vicious warden of the facility.  Mark Ruffalo is an ex-pilot, and Robin Wright Penn is Redford's estranged daughter.  Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the casting in this film--it is perfect--I couldn't have done any better myself.  The problem with "The Last Castle" is that it follows the same old clichés that we got so use to seeing in films like "Escape from Alcatraz" and "The Defiant Ones"...there are too many throw backs to Attica and this film kind of reminds you of that old HBO original movie about the Attica incident (I can't remember the name of it right now, but it starred Kyle McLachlan and Samuel L. Jackson).

      First time screenwriter David Scarpa penned this one, only to have it re-written by Graham Yost, who was the brains behind films such as "Speed", "Hard Rain", and "Broken Arrow".  I'm thinking that Scarpa wrote the film as an intense drama, only to have Yost turn it into a pseudo-action caper.  Director Rod Lurie, fresh off his immense critical success with "The Contender", knows how to get the best performances from his actors.  It is just a shame that the script isn't as strong as it should have been.  In better hands, the script would have been excellent and this film might be a Best Picture contender.  Alas, it will fall short of Oscar glory and sink into the shelves of the New Release wall until it receives its revival on HBO or Showtime in about a year.

      I hate to say "The Last Castle" isn't worth watching, because it is a good movie--but, as I said before, it is not a great movie.  This is a film which is really up to the movie-goer to decide.  You can either wait for this one to come out on video or you can go and see it in the theaters for a slightly larger fee.  Either way, you will either be slightly satisfied or highly satisfied.  I don't think many people will be able to watch this film and completely hate it, if merely and solely for James Gandolfini's wicked performance.  Some performances can save a terrible script but, in this case, the pen is mightier than the Soprano.

     -- Billy Ray ( 2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      James ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      Ever wonder what a modern "Gladiator" would be like?  This is it.  You've got a general stripped of his rank only this time replace 'slave' with 'prisoner'.  The movie is entertaining and fun to watch, but it could have been better.  I've only seen Mark Ruffalo in two movies and both roles were very different and he mastered both of them.  Is it safe to say he's a great actor?  Robert Redford also did a good job, but the guy who could have done better is James Gandolfini.  It's easy to play an evil character, and James did that, but I think his character didn't become mad enough.  By that I mean insane.  Irwin was driving him insane, but he was never insane.  He was just evil.  They could have done more with that character by showing the colonel driven to insanity instead of just teetering on the brink of it.  Overall it's a good enough to sit through and pay 8 bucks (although I only paid $5.50; love those matinee prices!!) It's a little jingoistic, and it's a strange coincidence that this movie was released right now.  They shot this film long before 9/11/01.  It's still good.  Check it out.

      Matt ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      It's good to see Redford on screen again, his last movie being "The Horse Whisperer."  James Gandolfini is amazingly good as the villain, not overplaying the role of the sadistic warden--dropping his Italian-American, New Jersey accent and portraying it in a subtle, low-key manner.  Newcomer Mark Ruffalo is also great as the prison bookie.  The plot is typical of prison dramas, and scores high on the melodramatic scale, but you care for these characters and when we reach the violent climax you want to cheer for the prisoners.  It's a very touching film, and I even cried at the end.  So if you're in the mood for good, compelling melodrama--this is the one to see!