Day 233 - 8/21/09 - Movie #229
BEFORE: Another Redford prison movie - but this time James Gandolfini plays the warden...
THE PLOT: A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
AFTER: Now that's what I'm talkin' about - I think that was the best prison movie I've seen so far, very action-packed. It's also a war movie, since it takes place in a military prison full of ex-soldiers. Redford plays Eugene Irwin, a general who disobeyed orders and was sentenced to 10 years - unfortunately, he doesn't know how to be an inmate, or a civilian, so once he proves himself, he becomes a sort of general to the inmates of the prison, who organize under his "command". The warden condones violence against the prisoners, which is against the military code, so Irwin leads a prison revolt to take command of the prison, in order to force the resignation of the warden.
It starts as a psychological chess game between the two men - but Irwin sees more moves ahead, and is able to put his battlefied expertise to good use. The last hour had me on the edge of my seat - Redford can still bring it, and it's good to see Gandolfini playing someone besides Tony Soprano. Also starring Mark Ruffalo (who I usually can't stand, but he's tolerable here) and Delroy Lindo.
My one complaint - just because a man is a general and an expert on modern warfare, it doesn't necessarily mean he's an expert on ALL types of warfare - building a trebuchet, for example, is a very specific skill that most people would not possess. Gen. Irwin might be a master of strategy and technique, but he seems a little too omniscient.
RATING: 9 out of 10 rubber bullets
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