In The Last Castle, as the gritty, court-martialed general leads his insurrection, Goldsmith returns to emotional territory that is closest in relation to the complexly vengeful Rambo scores, but with a prominent role for trumpet and rolling motif usage that will very obviously remind even mainstream listeners of Patton. For a film that was advertised as having a substantial amount of action, The Last Castle is treated to an introspective score, exploring the wits of personality and patriotism within the context of tense resiliency. Only in a handful of cues does a fully rousing performance of defiance break the mostly reflective underscore. The tone for The Last Castle, while it may contain the same basic elements as all of the scores mentioned above and yet serve a film for which a highly dramatic advertisement campaign was launched, was among Goldsmith's most reserved in years. Many cues are opened and closed by rapid snare bursts, with minimal strings and electronic rhythms to set the necessary militaristic atmosphere. On top of that, two or three brass motifs repeat unwaveringly throughout many cues, very predictably and with a consistently sorrowful and frustrated mood. The rising and falling statements of this main theme for the imprisoned general function almost like a slow ostinato for various brass layers, which is where the comparisons to Goldsmith's echoing trumpet call in Patton become inevitable. The second phrase of the theme is rarely called upon but offers overdue resolution by ending on key, expanding into a melancholy string identity of its own by the height of "The Flag." The short bursts of actual, ballsy action music resemble very much the composer's Rambo III score from 1989, as well as Executive Decision to a lesser extent. Goldsmith takes the figures of the general's theme and alters them for an attractive action variant in "The Rock Pile" (most notably), "Full Alert," and late rebellion cues. The use of the timpani to pound out the bass region of Goldsmith's action material had become a staple, as had the deliberate tempos and emphasized spacing of brass whole notes.

When you compare all of Goldsmith's patriotic action themes over the years, it becomes evident that the meter and placement of lengthier accent notes in his themes are typically pretty much the same. This similarity causes the themes to have that "Goldsmithian" sound that is always enjoyable, if not superb in their nobility. Many point to First Knight as a prime example of this. But the sound was also growing old and predictable by the 1990's, and Goldsmith again in The Last Castle failed to take any chances with his established structures or instrumentation. No substantial secondary themes exist, and the electronic effects, often Goldsmith's tool for creativity, are largely diminished. Only the application of a flute and clarinet for one doomed secondary character deviates. When not engaged in development of the primary theme and its action variant, the score often meanders aimlessly with only the help of slight bass string tones. The remarkable predictability and lack of experimentation in this score caused it to pass by very quickly on its original 2001 album, though part of that comment results from the existence of under 35 minutes of score material on that product. Because long sequences in the film exist without Goldsmith's music or apply classical or blues insertions, the score has less of an impact outside of the most intentionally poignant scenes. For the collectors of the composer's works, there's nothing to really catch your attention once you've established that The Last Castle is an extremely stereotypical military score for Goldsmith. It is the kind of derivative, patriotic music with a melancholy heart that many had come to expect from the composer for portrayals of rebellious patriots. As usual for the era, the engineering of the score is marvelous, especially enhancing the few full performances of the primary theme on trumpet with resounding harmony from bass strings. This positive attribute especially assists the "Taking Command" cue, which has a passage in its second minute that requires the trumpets and horns to alternate rhythmic duties to denote the battle of intellects shown between the two leads; the standard mix of Goldsmith's recordings from this period works wonders with this material.

Ironically, it was the terrorist attack on America in September of 2001 that caused the score's album to be of memorable consequence. With the attack occurring in the waning days of The Last Castle's post-production, Goldsmith re-arranged the end credits rendition of the general's theme and labeled the recording "September 11, 2001." Interestingly, the superb trumpet performances by Malcolm McNab and the seemingly more inspiring orchestral accompaniment for this rendition of the theme, led by muscular piano, are a remarkable aspect of an otherwise solid but average Goldsmith score. Only three minutes in length, the tribute to the victims of the attack is a noteworthy move by Goldsmith, especially given how close it came to the time of his death, and he was fortunate enough to record the piece for an already patriotic film due to awkwardly lucky timing. (Imagine him trying to work something like this in to Along Came a Spider!) The 2001 album unfortunately contains two bluesy songs among the score, and although they fit the prison environment quite well, the final one significantly diminishes the mood of the attack tribute, a memorial cue that undoubtedly should have been presented as the final track on the album. In 2020, Intrada Records expanded the presentation to 55 minutes, offering similar sound quality and including several alternate cues, classical source pieces recorded or licensed for the film, and the original album arrangement to form a robust 2-CD set. The additional cues from the score proper include contemplative renditions of the general's theme early, led by the impressive expression of defiance for the idea in "My Mission." Several bleak underscore cues now occupy the middle of the work, though the climax finally features the "Battle for the Castle" cue largely written by orchestrator Mark McKenzie, who followed Joel McNeely's Air Force One methods in competently referencing Goldsmith's motific and rhythmic figures for an exciting six minutes. The alternate versions of "The Flag" are also of interest, the cue clearly posing difficulties in tone for the composer and filmmakers. On the whole, while The Last Castle is certainly stronger than Goldsmith's other 2000 and 2001 scores, collectors of his work over many decades will find very little music that doesn't reflect or repeat the composer's previous patriotic efforts.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download