Grade:  C+

Director:  Rod Lurie		Released:  October 2001
Writer:  David Scarpa		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Delroy Lindo		Running time:  131 minutes

Ratings System

This movie works, because somehow it's believable.  Not that I believe it would happen, but the material is presented in a believable way.  It's plausible, and the film follows its own set of rules.  You just have to sidestep logic for two hours.

The climatic battle is kind of fun.  The production engineers surely had fun building the gadgets that are turned into weapons by the inmates.  And it's clever and fresh enough to jump over stereotypes and be something new.

What makes it new is that Redford's character provides strength as a leader not by taking charge, but by empowering the other men to take charge and lead themselves.  He is the ultimate motivator.  He is that guy that people will listen to not because they believe in him, but because he makes them believe in themselves.  It's a great character that deserves a more serious film than this.  The Last Castle is an escapist action/prison/military film with nice touches ... but it's still only an action film.

- crocoPuffs