The Last Castle

By RICHARD SCHICKEL

A three-star general (Robert Redford) is busted for exceeding his orders and getting some of his men killed. He's incarcerated in a tough Army jail commanded by a prissy hard-ass (James Gandolfini) who has never seen combat. The former organizes a revolt against the latter's sadism, wrapping his improbable efforts in the flag. Somehow, joining the prison riot is made to seem an act of high patriotism. Redford underacts, Gandolfini overacts, and this movie is directed with the same air of unreality, the same grim passion for cliches, both cinematic and emotional, that Lurie brought to his first film, The Contender.

--By Richard Schickel