Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly ridiculous
Review: In this thoroughly ridiculous film, Robert Redford plays Lt. Gen. Irwin, who has been sent to a military prison for a ten-spot for being responsible for eight deaths in some Gulf War mission gone wrong. He's initially treated with courtesy by the thuggish, sadistic boss of the prison, Col. Winter (James Gandolfini), who soon enough turns vicious and nasty. Irwin starts out indifferent to the prisoners who want him to help them improve conditions, but very soon they're all calling him "Sir," saluting, sucking up to him, obeying his every order--just what you'd expect a hardened population of felons to do to a 3-star general instead of looting, raping, torturing and murdering this symbol of authority. Naturally this doesn't sit well with Winter. In the thrilling climax, the inmates, under Irwin's orders, storm the bastille with a collection of homemade weapons including a catapult, gasoline bombs, mortars made of steel tubes and oxygen bottles, etc., that they've somehow managed to acquire, build and hide from several hundred guards. The ending is too hokey to believe. They even sing the "Marine Corps Hymn"!!!
Redford just goes through the motions here with about as much verve as did DeNiro in all his films between "Goodfellas" and "Casino." Gandolfini is dreadful--he offers his limited range of Tony Soprano grimaces made even more comical by his sweaty attempts at elocution. The always-excellent Delroy Lindo is the only bright spot here, but he's on screen for maybe five minutes, so his impact is limited.
Rating: 
Summary: Good flick, if self important and slightly implausible
Review: Robert Redford is Eugene Irwin, a disgraced and court-martialed army general sentenced to long-term incarceration in "The Castle", a maximum security army prison presided over by Lt. Col. Winter (James Gandolfini). A man of high ideals, Erwin has no illusions about his guilt or the prisoners with whom he will be sharing the next few years with. Other prisoners, convinced that Irwin must have some friends left in Washington, rally around him, hoping he can do something about the brutal conditions imposed by the sadistic Winter. At first content merely to do his time with the minimum amount of indignity, Erwin finds he must become a general again, create an army out of disgraced soldiers who populate the Castle and usurp Winter's position as its king. Reverting to his role as a tactician, Erwin treats the Castle like a medeival fortress - defined by its walls, its garrison, guard towers and its king. Though less of an ideal army, Erwin's forces have the advantage of already being within the walls of their castle.This was actually a pretty good movie, when you get past the miscasting and the way it manipulates you, and how far behind the times it is. We're supposed to believe that the Castle really does house the worst of the worst, but Redford's character expends very little effort to rally and unite them in a futile cause. (He wins their "Hearts and Minds" which, depending on what direction your coming from, is either a jab at the failure of Vietnam, or the liberal idealism that thought such things possible). Redford's character is the biggest cheat - an utterly selfless character whose disgrace, we learn, was actually based on heroism (Erwin led a force in a tragically bungled maneuver in Burundi, which, ala Mogadishu, went horribly wrong; disobeying a direct order to evac, and disregarding reliable intel that the idea would be likely fatal, Erwin remains with the idea of seizing a dread warlord. The reliable intel, however, proves correct, and Erwin's men are slaughtered). We also learn that Erwin was a former POW, credited by fellow prisoners with saving their lives and dignity. Winter, on the other hand, is a bully and a coward, looking safe because he knows the awesome firepower he's got. Gandolfini tries to underplay the guy, trying not to be Tony Soprano, but sounding more like Joe Mantegna's "Fat Tony" character on the Simpsons. We know that Winter will crumble. Most of the characters are anonymous, especially a disgraced helicopter pilot named Yates who will prove pivotal in both Erwin and Winter's plans. Will Winter be able to capitalize on Yates's shame (Yates trafficked in drugs and, when caught, wore a wire to sell out his co-conspirators)? Or will Erwin teach Yates that he has a chance to be all he was and can still be (son of a Medal of Honor recipient; West Point grad; elite gunship pilot; hero)? When Erwin's plan is revealed, we're supposed to marvel at its ingenuity, but the tools and the knowledge behind them were never even hinted at during the story (jury-rigged catapults, firebombs, home-made bazookas and a nifty grappling hook gun; one of Erwin's soldiers manages to locate the pump for the water-main that Winter's guards plug into for riot control). And you've got to wonder how Winter, repressive as he was and having as many resources as he had, would have missed such obvious details. A good movie, if you don't take it as seriously as the people who made it.
Rating: 
Summary: Gandolfini is brilliant; Redford Predictably Mediocre
Review: In the absence of a wonderful performance by James Gandolfini, this would be just one more of the formulaic, cookie-cutter Hollywood prison movies. The plot is more than familiar, if not outright predictable: "the guards are sadists and criminals; the prisoners are victims and the heroes; society can only be saved by the role reversal that their insurrection involves, you know the rest." The earliest version of this I can recall is Birdman of Alcatraz, but the genre probably goes back to Victor Hugo, if not further. Unfortunately, Redford isn't Burt Lancaster, and his character isn't Jean Valjean. Nonetheless, it's the average Redford performance: lots of closeups and little acting - not awful, but nothing worth comment. James Gandolfini, however, although a comparative newcomer to major productions shows just what fine acting can be and displays more dramatic range in his role than Redford has in his entire career. Sopranos afficianados won't recognize him if they hear the soundtrack only. To illustrate, at the end the viewer has little regret over loss of Redford's flatulent character while the downfall of Gandolfini's has a Shakespearean tragic quality in view of his essential value dragged down by an insuperable flaw of pride. The long and the short of this is that this movie would be a profoundly forgettable piece of agitprop absent Gandolfini's splendid performance. With that performance, Last Castle struggles but finally achieves a measure of acceptability -- but only just. If the film serves to advance Gandolfini's career beyond the criminal and blue collar roles he's done to date, it will more than redeem any of its shortcomings.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Star Film about 3 Star General
Review: This is a brilliant movie with great characters. Robert Redford returns to the big screen as decorated three-star General Irwin, who is court martialed for disregarding an executive command by the President. His legacy as a soldier precedes him and eventually gains him the respect of his fellow inmates. The Warden (James Gandolfini) of the prison is intimidated by Irwin's presence and reputation which ultimately propels them into the tug-of-war for control over the prisoners and eventually the prison. This movie displays a soldier's honor, pride and loyalty, because before anything else they are still soldiers.
Rating:
Summary: simply great
Review: I dont think that like everyone else i need to describe what the movie is about. I'd rather say what an amazing movie this was, even though this isnt typically the stuff a 21 year old girl would watch on her own. Rober Redford is our hero in this movie and I couldnt help but root for him. It shows human emotions and care for one another even if its about prisoners. But one must remember that the prisoners were all soldiers, not just some bums off the street, so tehy have a good hart from the beginning.
This was a great movie and i recomenned it to any war/action movie fan.
Rating:
Summary: Incarcerated Power Struggle
Review: Lieutenant General Eugene Irwin (Robert Redford) is sentenced to ten years in a military prison that is controlled by Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini). General Irwin simply wants to serve his time in order to return to his family. It seems to be an easy task, however, Colonel Winter is seeing trouble in the hierarchy of the prison and feels the need to demonstrate his authority. This leads to a chain of events that results in the Last Castle depicting arrogance, leadership, and doing the right thing.
Rating:
Summary: Another Redford Classic
Review: A masterfull battle of strong wills. General Irwin (Redford) lead his men through building them up before he was sent to jail and he tries to lead the same way once incarcerated. Every man in the place, including the guards and warden (James Gandolfini) look at Irwin with respect, he has earned it through his legendary performances in combat. The warden is a colonel who has never seen combat. This is where the difference begin, not end. These two strong willed military men battle for the control of the prison, the mens hearts and minds. One trying to lead/control by fear, the other trying to lead by example. Throughout the movie you are constantly wondering what Irwin will pull out of his hat next, where he is going with his line of thought. The final "battle" scenes for control of the prison are very entertaining. Lots of action and the mind games play on throughout. It is like a chess game, move, counter-move. An outstanding movie that should be added to anyone's collection.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Ultra entertaining, well made. That's all. All spectacle, little substance.
Rating:
Summary: Good Viewing
Review: Although often implausible, this is a rousing film of adventure and a fight against evil. A personality and power struggle between the imprisoned General Irwin (Redford) and the sadistic Army-prison commander, Col. Winter (Gandolfini), is bound to end in disaster. But even though I realized this early in the movie, I still sat on the edge of my seat because the element of suspense was highly maintained. Irwin and the other prisoners hatch a futile-seeming plot to unseat and disgrace Winter, plotting that the viewers never really see---it just happens. Irwin gives these prisoners -former Army men-a sense of purpose as they try to rebel against the brutal regime in the prison. The characters in this movie are well-defined as we see them work towards redemption and salvation. Although a long movie, the action moves it right along. The acting is excellent as well. Despite some holes in the plot and a lot of contrivance, this was a decent film.
Rating:
Summary: absolute must have for any dvd collection
Review: i am an avid movie fan and see many movies per year but this one was my definate favorit of 2001 without a doubt. robert redford plays a strong yet suttle role as a 3 star general and war hero that was convicted for disobeying higher command and after witnessing murder and the mistreatment of inmates decides to act against it. the commadant role was played equally well by james gandolfini (the lead role tony in the hbo series the sopranos) and in the end its an all out stalemate between the two with a rather patriotic ending. the music and sound are spectacular and the wisdom and insight in the script deserve an academy award. im usually a critical movie goer but this film takes the cake. 5 stars.
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