One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Brilliant and touching

Awesome Movie

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

There's something very comforting for me about watching Christopher Lambert in the nineties sci-fi/action movie 'Fortress.' It's like revisiting an old friend in a comfortable environment. Yes, it's fair to say that anyone who was basically in their early teenage years of watching films would find this film particularly deep and thought provoking (like I did at the time). Now, over twenty years (and several thousand) films later, my cynical and jaded eyes see it for what it is – a load of nonsense (but kind of good fun nonsense if you're in the mood).Sometime in the near future pregnancies are controlled and anyone having a child without government approval (or something) is imprisoned in the most hellish of judicial facilities imaginable. The opening scene shows us Christopher Lambert and his pregnant wife attempting to flee the country, but getting caught in the process. Guess where they end up? The titular 'Fortress' is a prison (tower) buried under the ground in the desert where escape is 'impossible' (yeah, in the same way that 'no one' had ever won 'The Running Man' until Arnie had a go).Once imprisoned, Lambert is subjected to all the usual prison movie tropes, including clichéd cellmates, aggressive bully-type alpha-male prisoners and – of course – the fascist warden in charge, this time played by Kurtwood Smith (or that-baddie-in-Robocop to most of us). Whereas most of the film is pretty run-of-the-mill, Kurtwood does his best to turn in a pretty sinister and menacing performance. Of course there are some pretty big stretches in the plot which are designed to further the story rather than be realistic. These are things like the warden just so happening to fall in love with Lambert's wife (like our hero needed any extra excuses for hating the man in charge of the barbaric facility).The sets are pretty bland. In fact, the sets are sets – pure and simple. Grey walls with people wandering around in orange jumpsuits. The special effects aren't that special and the dialogue is a bit corny here and there. All in all, it's probably not the greatest of films and it's no wonder that it's been pretty much forgotten compared to the classic action films of the decade. And yet, I stand by my original statement. Watching 'Fortress' takes me back to my childhood, so, yes, a lot of my appreciation of this film stems from my nostalgia of the era. It's a simple film from a simpler time.I doubt it would hold up today against the current crop of action movies. It wasn't much more than a 'straight-to-video' affair back in its day, but, like I say, if you're looking for a slightly dated, more simple action movie then this one is worth a watch if you feel like wasting an hour and a half. The deeper meaning I may have once seen has long since been painted over by clichés and cheesy nonsense, but I like that sort of thing.

It's Red Forman vs. Highlander in a classic Cat and Mouse prison escape film. Seems in the future Humanity done effed too much and now every couple is limited to just one child, even if that child dies at birth. Duncan Macleod's child does just that, and then his wife gets preggers again. When They try and escape to another country they're captured and thrown into the dreaded Fortress, a corporate prison managed by Warden Poe, played by Kurtwood Smith aka Red Forman aka Clarence Bodiker. It's directed by the Re-Animator guy and although low budget and cheesy it's entertaining because of the interesting ideas and creative use of the budget dollars.

2017, a dystopian future, and US Army officer John Henry Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife Karen S. Brennick (Loryn Locklin) are expecting a second child. Strict one-child policies forbid any couples having a second child, but the Brennick's first child died at birth so they attempt to get away with a second pregnancy. They are caught trying to cross the border and sent to a maximum security prison that is owned and run by the "MenTel Corporation" A place where dreams are not your own and all thoughts of escape are dealt with severely by futuristic methods unheard of in the civilised world.You got Connor MacLeod, Herbert West, Clarence J. Boddicker and one of the finest female bottoms in cinema, all crammed into one riotous, hokey and immeasurably fun movie. It probably wont come as much of a surprise to anyone to learn that this Christopher Lambert starrer is not going to have you scratching the cranial matter and pondering the future of mankind. But it does have some interesting ideas both in terms of its prison setting and in the technological advancements used. I mean hey, would you try to escape if you had an intestinal bomb set to go off outside the perimeters? {think The Running Man's neck braces but in your belly}. It can also be said of Fortress that it's not over ambitious, where director Stuart Gordon is aware of his restraints and keeps it simple but sparky, of which this is aided by Lambert buffing up and throwing punches left right and off kilter. Tho nothing much as an actor, Lambert none the less gives the likes of Sly and Arnie a run for their money here and looks every inch and sinew an action hero.Kurtwood Smith, Jeffrey Combs, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Clifton Collins Jr. and of course,Loryn Locklin's bottom, all add varying degrees of fun and frolics to the occasion. While the set design for the interiors is really rather snazzy. It's B movie berserker time folks, a dystopian world where Christopher Lambert can beat the crap out of blokes twice his size, where half humanoids have flame throwers for arms, and Kurtwood Smith is in charge of a prison. Great fun really, truly. 7/10

As I child, my parents let me watch all sorts of violent movies and I really can't thank them enough for it. I will name a few that stayed in the memory to this day: Speed, Hard Boiled, Under Siege 1 and 2, Terminator 2, Highlander, Braveheart and this movie, Fortress. Fortress stars Christopher Lambert in his best role (yes, even better than Highlander). In the future you can't have more than one child or something like that and he and his wife are sent to a new super prison where escape is impossible, or so it seems! I have a problem with the tagline 'the only thing it couldn't hold was an innocent man'. Lambert is not innocent. His wife is pregnant again and no matter how stupid the law is, he broke it. So I suppose the only thing it can't hold is a group of guys who plot to escape using the explosive stomach bombs that are planted in them on arrival. Yes, you heard correctly, stomach bombs! If you go out side the perimeter...BOOM! Kurtwood Smith makes a great turn as the Head of the Prison, and as the pawn of the complex computer system that runs THE FORTRESS! I loved this movie as a kid, and I watched it recently. Guess what? I still love it. It's got character to make up for it's clichés and a whole bunch of originality to make up for Lambert's French-Canadian-Lambert accent. His acting is what I call Lambertesque. The non stop action makes this movie a great watch for any 1) man 2) fan of 80s/90s action 3)Lambert fan 4)Anyone open mindedI highly recommend it.