Director Stuart Gordon's contribution to the I've-seen-the-future-and-it-sucks genre, FORTRESS is a creative and rousing sci-fi adventure. It's 2018, and America is facing a terrible overpopulation crisis. To solve the problem, a strict limit has been set on the number of children a family can have: one. When John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife, Karen (Loryn Locklin), lose their infant son, they try to have another illegally. However, they're caught and sent off to the Fortress, a supermaximum security prison from which escape is impossible. Despite the robot guards, the laser beams, the mindscanners, and the death devices planted in all inmates' stomachs, Brennick plans an escape with his wife anyway. Lambert is excellent as Brennick, the only reasonable man in an unreasonable world. Locklin is good as Karen, his wife and equal in strength of mind and will. Kurtwood Smith is gleefully evil as the sadistic prison director who is as emotionless as the machines that control him. Gordon imparts his graphic and detailed visual style to the film, as well as his usual strengths of strong character development and solid storytelling. FORTRESS is a great sci-fi escape movie that recalls THE RUNNING MAN and other prison-break films.Read full review
While this is an obvious B-movie, and as such certain artistic license is to be expected without holding up to too much criticism, some of the devices and associated concepts are actually quite intriguing! We are introduced early on in the film to the famous “Intestinator”, a device implanted forcibly through the mouth and down the throat and the digestive system. Failure to stay within the permitted areas of the Fortress – or any other type of insubordination - will result in a lethal explosion of the device, blowing a hole out from the victim's abdomen. The warden of the facility, as played by Kurtwood Smith (most famous for his role as Red Forman on That 70's Show) has access to a device that scans the minds of sleeping inmates and shows him their dreams, in particular a sexually explicit dream he views from the mind of John Brennick. This particular scene also evokes some questioning of moral authority, and the invasion of Brennick's mind, his innermost thoughts and sexual fantasies, is an invasion of thought, privacy, and self that bears contemplation if only for a moment. Lastly, the concept of a subterranean prison built in the middle of a desert, administered by a corporate entity is fairly unique. While the prison movie genre itself is extremely prone to cliche, a few interesting sideplots offer a unique and fast-paced experience.Read full review
I loved this movie when I first saw it years ago. It is still very entertaining and enjoyable.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
But I wish the studio would have done a better job with the transfer from film to digital, this one is pretty poor. Hopefully, someday, this movie gets a nice, clean transfer from film to digital in the original aspect ratio, it really deserves it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Good movie.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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