Is there anything more excruciating than being lent a film by a friend, which they expound as a great love of theirs, and finding it to be complete and utter bilge? Well, yes there is, and that is watching The Last Castle, though this is guilty of the aforementioned crime as well. Not just crap. Recommended crap.It was so lame, I can't really be bothered to go into it. It is something of a poor-man's Shawshank crossed with the Dead Poet's Society, but with utterly no heart. To my mind, an unacceptable film in a world where such classics of their respective sub-genres (1. the prison drama in which the real criminals are not those condemed, and 2. the inspirational leader-cum-hero 'brings out the best' in those from whom society expects least) which this film woefully attempts to combine, already exist.
I will say this for it, it wasn't so mind-numbingly awful that I didn't see it through to the end, though I think forcing myself through this hardship was mainly out of loyalty to my friend, and the hope that he did not rate such tripe, that it simply had to get better! I hoped in vain.
I think it is possible, that part of my dislike for it was because I am a girl, and specifically a girl who is unimpressed by macho behaviour, pointless hero worship, anything to do with the military, one-liners scripted to be quotable that simply aren't, and gloating acts of violence juxtaposed with try-hard rousing speeches that seem to miss the mark every time. So, this film was simply full of my pet hates. Another of which includes people being miraculously pulled from the flaming wreckage of a helicopter with narry a scratch on them, save a few artfully attractive grazes to the cheekbones. I was in more pain than they were just watching it!
I'm meandering into gibberish through frustration, so will stop. Don't watch this film. Unless you've been bad and need to be punished.
No comments:
Post a Comment