The Last Castle

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The Last Castle (2001)

The Last Castle:

Here we go: General Eugene Irwin (Robert Redford) is sent away to a military prison because he is apparently responsible for getting his unit killed on a mission. In the prison, he finds that the prisoners are completely demoralized and at Colonel Winter's (the warden) mercy. To raise spirits, Irwin builds up a command structure where the prisoners' former ranks determine their status, thereby giving them a little thread of dignity. Being the only general in there, he is quickly recognized as their leader. When Winter recognizes what is happening, he tries to put a stop to it which spurs on a full blown prisoner revolt. This type of movie has actually been done numerous times before where a "good" prisoner must fight to survive against a corrupt warden. For most of the movie, it was really interesting while it built up to what could have been a great climactic finale. Instead, the climax seemed unrealistic (even by Hollywood standards) and leaves us feeling unsatisfied with the resolution. One can only suspend their disbelief to a certain point and the movie was good up until that point. Maybe we'd have been better off if we'd stopped watching at the end and then just imagined our own finale.

-Tso