2001, 1 hr 30 min., Rated R for language and violence.�Dir: Rod Lurie. Cast: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Robin Wright Penn, Mark Ruffalo, Tennessee State Penitentiary.

I wasn't sure what to expect with The Last Castle, just that it starred Robert Redford and James Gandolfini, and that the film was shot in Nashville, which I've been reading a lot in the local paper about the last year when visiting family. The town really kissed Redford's butt, but don't we all?

It became real clear real fast, though, what to expect. I have a feeling that anyone who ever served in the Armed Forces will dislike the picture viciously, but I enjoyed it. In fact, I found it to be a rousing crowd pleaser that sets up the good guys (prisoners) vs. the bad guys (warden, some guards) right off the bat and doesn't leave much room for shades of gray.

Directed by relative newcomer (in that you've never heard of his other work) Rod Lurie, The Last Castle is predictable, manipulative and much of the situations and dialogue are incredibly clich�, but that doesn't matter. It moved along quickly (at 90 minutes) and kept the action coming, so I was swept into it and took the movie for the two hours of entertainment that it should be.

Redford plays a legendary three-star general, Gandolfini the Colonel and essentially warden of the military prison to which the general has been sentenced for what must be a pretty bad crime. Nonetheless, Gandolfini is a bit intimidated by such a presence, telling his sergeant that: "They should be naming a base after him, not sending him here." That is, until Redford insults Gandolfini's pretty little military collection of bullets, sabers, guns, etc. and the game is on.

Gandolfini, badly in need of breathing techniques (seriously, all he did the entire film was breathe heavily and throw out a four-word sentence every ten minutes), does the best he can with the material given, which still doesn't mean much. His Colonel, essentially the warden of the prison, is constantly manipulating the men and looking for trouble. He runs the prison harshly and not according to military protocol, which is all these guys have to cling to, thus Redford easily gets the prisoners' support.

The century-old Tennessee State Penitentiary - on the banks of the Cumberland River near Nashville - is the third star of the film. The century-old prison serves as the near impenetrable castle, and the filmmakers went to great pains in their shotmaking to ensure that the audience understands the coldness of the fortress which holds the prisoners. The Penitentiary was also the site of filming for Tom Hanks' The Green Mile, not to mention the 1989 jewel Ernest Goes to Jail, which of course rivals any prison movie ever made, except of course The Longest Yard.

The Last Castle won't be every viewer's cup of tea, but many will see it for the release it is, and ignore any plot holes or incongruity that may arise upon thinking of it afterwards. Life's too short to shoot holes in this film.

The verdict:

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