The Last Castle (2001)

IMDb plot summary: A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the corrupt system that put him away.
Directed by Rod Lurie. Starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, and Steve Burton.

I don't watch a lot of prison movies or military movies, but I had to admit a lot of this felt extremely familiar. Even without a lot of familiarity with the genre, the many tropes are obvious. Frankly, if I *had* been better versed in the genre, I think I would have found it distractingly unoriginal, but as it was, it worked for me. It helped me instantly connect with the characters and the stakes and everything I needed to. In the end, it took me down all the right emotional paths and I ultimately enjoyed it more than I think is warranted by the actual quality of the film. I had a good time with it, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Last Castle > Monster
The Last Castle < All's Faire in Love
The Last Castle < The Red Shoes
The Last Castle > Bye Bye Birdie (1995)
The Last Castle > Muppet Treasure Island
The Last Castle > The Diary of Anne Frank (2009)
The Last Castle < Runaway Bride
The Last Castle > The Good Dinosaur
The Last Castle < Thor
The Last Castle < A Bug's Life
The Last Castle < Hook
The Last Castle < The Shallows
Final spot: #1011 out of 2617.