Review of Fortress (1992) by Drew R — 28 Jun 2007

As far as the movie goes, its great fun, although everything is a little iffy thanks to the B-movie standard direction, sets, cast etc. Christopher Lambert is his usual scowling, snarling self here and the rest of the cast put in pretty average performances pitched at the level you would expect from such a movie. There is plenty of action, which comes mainly in the form of violent fight scenes(its a prison remember) as Lambert tries to assert some kind of control and escape the prison. Plenty of blood flows, although not to an excessive extent although there are some quite gory moments whcih are surprisingly 'tastefully' handled(mainly due to a low budget I expect rather than choice). Some of the scenes where the prison guards are involved look like something out of Buck Rogers, or Battlestar Gallactica which is unfortunate but fortunately these are few and far between. Thankfully, there has been little attempt to 'over-do' the advanced technology bit, which always goes wrong when there's a low budget, but what is there does look quite authentic.

Overall, there is plenty here to please the average sci-fi or action movie fan. Some of the special effects look a little less than special thanks to the passing of time and a stunted budget but it doesn't look too bad. Some interesting ideas support this movie and raise it above many of its mediocre partners in the genre and make it a movie well worth renting out for the evening. If you like this type of thing then check it out. Also, if you are a student of sociology/criminolgy then there's something here for you as well, even if you're not a fan of sci-fi in general.