The Last Castle Review

This movie stars Robert Redford as a prison inmate who used to be a military general. Basically, in a nutshell, Robert Redford is sent to a type of military prison for doing something wrong. He used to be a three star general but has to go back to being "just one of the guys" as a prison inmate where saluting is illegal. In this movie the prison warden isn't a real pleasant guy to deal with but isn't insanely cruel either. I started to compare this movie to The Shawshank Redemption due to the plot involving a cruel prison warden and a group of prisoners who want to change things. However, this movie I would say was a lot tamer compared to Shawshank. The warden like I mentioned seems very strict, but he isn't all about being the personification of evil (like Shawshank), and from what I could gather seems to treat the men fairly decently. Robert Redford enters the prison and begins to really change the way the men are acting by looking for the best in them rather than the worst (as the warden tended to do). Redford taught the men self-respect and gives them a purpose in life which improves morale and helps them to work together toward a goal. Overall they grow to respect Redford and see him as the emerging leader in their prison. The movie was enjoyable to watch, but does tend toward humanistic ideas. The warden is cast as being cruel for viewing the evil capabilities of the inmates, whereas Redford is a hero for seeing good in each inmate. I agree that we shouldn't always be looking for evil in people, but neither should we ignore it. Sin is a fact and it exists in everyone. To ignore the sin problem in our lives doesn't help people. We need to face sin for what it is - rebellion against God - and then trust Christ to save us and give us a new nature that can transform our attitudes and behavior. Although on the other hand, there is a balance with helping people to see their potential and encourage them for their praiseworth qualities. I just don't think that difference was made very clear in this movie. Recommended for great acting and an interesting look at leadership in a military prison.