Plot: What’s it about?
Rod Lurie’s The Last Castle borrows only the best elements from countless Hollywood prison movies that have come before it and combines them into an entertaining (albeit slightly predictable) action film. But what sets it apart from all the other prison movies is that the prisoners aren’t trying to escape. In such an improbable, only-in-Hollywood film, it was the actors who carried the day. The performances of stars Robert Redford and James Gandolfini were what really buoyed the film, and in fact, one of the most original factors in creating such an interesting relationship between their two characters was their mutual respect for each other.
The film, as written by David Scarpa and Graham Yost, played out so that neither one of the main characters ever underestimates their opponent throughout the film. Essentially, the audience gets to watch a war between two forces that can’t be strictly categorized as good or evil.
Court-martialed and stripped of his rank, former three-star General Irwin (Redford) has been sentenced to the maximum security military prison run by a militarily strict warden, Colonel Winter (Gandolfini). Winter has a great deal of respect for the once-legendary general, but soon becomes annoyed with his attempts to change the well-oiled prison routine. Winter soon tries to break Irwin’s spirit but only fuels his defiance — Irwin forms his own army of prisoners whose mission is to seize control of the prison and relieve Winter of his command.
Although there are many parallels to other classic prison movies, one that seems completely unnecessary is the piracy of The Shawshank Redemption. It is blatantly obvious when Irwin takes a young prisoner under his wing what the result will be. Director Lurie can be forgiven because The Last Castle does have a central theme of redemption, but informed viewers may find it too obvious as to where the motivation came from.
Fortunately, there’s not much to criticize of the performances in The Last Castle. Redford, Gandolfini, and supporting star Delroy Lindo all do superb jobs of keeping the audience’s interest with genuine, powerful appearances. Mark Ruffalo, addled by a dull character, was decent but paled in comparison to his castmates.
Complementing the acting corps, one of the best features of the film was that it didn’t incorporate the classical narrative forces of hero and villain. Both Irwin and Winter have their strengths and weaknesses. Irwin never tries to prove his innocence or contest his guilt, and Winter, despite his harsh methods, has honorable intentions. Furthermore, the characters’ actions reinforce their dual roles as either the hero or villain throughout the film.
The film’s finale is spectacular and almost makes up for the lack of originality. After fifteen minutes of constant, exciting action, director Lurie wraps the movie up with a completely unexpected ending. It is the perfect finishing touch.
Although the audience will easily identify with the prisoners, they aren’t victims of a corrupt system. They’re justly imprisoned, adding to the narrative complexity of The Last Castle. Much like the castle it portrays, this film will keep people in with its spellbinding action sequences and outstanding performances.
Video: How does it look?
Presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer, The Last Castle looks flawless in some scenes, while some of the others do show some errors. The color palette used is extremely muted. The grey uniforms of the inmates and the walls of the "castle" dominate the film. Not a lot of outdoor, bright "sunny day" shots are evident and the shots that aren’t outside are indoors, which is again–very grey and bleak. The image doesn’t suffer from any artifacting or edge enhancement and only a few minor nicks was all that I noticed. Flesh tones seemed right on target and black levels were fine as well. Essentially, this is what you expect from a new movie to DVD and it delivers.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, Dreamworks gives us a choice with dual Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. As always, I watched the film in DTS mode and then switched back and forth between key scenes to compare and contrast the sound. According to me, the tracks are almost identical. For the most part, this is a very dialogue-driven movie, but at just the right time some awesome sound kicks in. The Dolby track was a notch higher than that of the DTS, but towards the end, helicopters, gunfire and all sorts of action on the screen more than made up for some of the slower "sound action" during the middle of the film. Either track you choose will be fine, though as per usual; I give the edge to the DTS track. A Dolby Surround option is also included.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Dreamworks serves up a fairly good disc here, and while not containing too many extras, it’s enough to whet your appetite for more. First up is a commentary with Director Rod Laurie. Laurie, as in his track for "The Contender" is very talkative and full of information about the film and the actors. Being a solo track, I have listened to much worse, and some that have gaps of space that make you think your speakers went out! However he is very excited to do the track and it’s conveyed in how much he tells about the movie, the filming and the actors he used. A great commentary. Also included is an HBO First Look featurette entitled "The Making of The Last Castle". Though well-made, it’s essentially like a long trailer and like so many other featurettes that we see on most every other disc. Still, it’s interesting and if you liked the movie, then this will serve you up more of what you’re looking for. A series of 9 deleted scenes are also included and feature commentary with Laurie (which can be toggled on and off). You can choose the option to watch them all or one at a time. Also, they’re presented in anamorphic widescreen, which I feel is a nice touch. Some very in depth cast and crew bios are included as are production notes. The theatrical trailer is shown in anamorphic widescreen and in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. While the movie didn’t exactly light up the box office, I found it rather enjoyable and the DVD looks and sounds great and has a nice selection of supplemental features. Fans of the movie should be more than satisfied, as was I.
