William Friedkin’sfinal movie, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” is not a remake of 1954’s “The Caine Mutiny,” which starred Humphrey Bogart and was based on Herman Wouk’s 1951 novel of the same name. Instead, Friedkin’s film is based on Wouk’s subsequent 1953 play, which converted Caine’s story into a tight courtroom drama.

This is vintage stuff, and it’s hard to imagine why Friedkin felt anyone needed to tell this story yet again. There was already a “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” made for television byRobert Altman在1988年,这不是好像会有什么g on right now to make the tale of a mentally unbalanced captain and his mutinous crew particularly relevant. Nor does Friedkin use the film to break any new ground.

Yet Friedkin, who died in August, makes a strong case here that it can sometimes be a very good thing when an old guy makes a movie.

Perhaps at 87, Friedkin was too old to notice or care that nobody has been interested in this story for at least a generation. But if so, that liberated him from thinking he needed to do something new with this material. He just tells the story, making a few changes in order to set it in modern times, but otherwise leaves Wouk’s play alone.

And that story? It turns out to remain fairly engrossing — not positively riveting, but definitely something to stick with and enjoy. Gradually, the very old-fashioned nature of the project becomes a virtue. For his final work, Friedkin made a movie that seems positively pre-Friedkin, like a solid piece of entertainment from 1965.

Taking place almost entirely in the courtroom, the film adaptation presents us with Jake Lacy as Maryk, a first officer who, in the middle of a storm at sea, relieved his captain of command and took control of the ship. Lacy (“The White Lotus”) is smart casting in that he looks like a good guy but doesn’t seem like a good guy. As a consequence, there’s not only some mystery as to how the trial will go, but some question as to how it should go.

To a large extent, the first officer is a spectator at his own trial. The juiciest roles go to Jason Clarke, as the defense attorney who reluctantly pursues the one legal strategy he thinks might win: destroying the reputation of Capt. Queeg, the role that Bogart made immortal and played here by Kiefer Sutherland.

It would seem a hopeless task for an actor to get into the ring with Bogart at his best, but Sutherland finds a way to make Queeg his own. He’s ingratiating and vulnerable, but also brittle. There’s something about his appearance that’s disconcerting. He looks glassy, with his skin shiny, almost translucent. Queeg seems unwell, mentally and possibly also physically.

“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” is tasteful and restrained, and though it was made by someone known as a wild man, there’s no grandstanding here. The performances are modulated, not pushed. If anything, the viewing experience is like being a fly on the wall of a real court-martial. The difference is that every minute of it is interesting.

Lance Reddick (of the “John Wick” franchise), who died earlier this year, plays the judge in the case, and it’s another commanding performance for an actor who was much in demand. He has six more film and TV projects yet to be released.

Reach Mick LaSalle: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com