FORTRESS (1993) A "Turkey of the Week" film review by Justin Felix Copyright 1998 Justin Felix
Rating: *** (out of five)
Screenplay by Troy Neighbors, Steven Feinberg, David Venerable, and Tony Curtis Fox. Story by Troy Neighbors and Steven Feinberg. Directed by Stuart Gordon. Starring Cristopher Lambert, Kurtwood Smith, Loryn Locklin. Rated R (contains violence, profanity, and nudity).
Synopsis: Sometime in America's future, a couple tries to have a second child after their first dies, even though it is against the laws designed to decrease the world population. Caught and interred in the Fortress, a prison run by a supercomputer named Zed, they discover a few of its disturbing secrets before planning an escape.
Comments: FORTRESS offers a cliched, bleak, apocalyptic future and some rather gory violence, but it still manages to be an entertaining sci-fi thriller. What probably saves this movie from being a turkey is its storyline. No spectacular, jawdropping special effects are required (which is good considering some of the effects look very dated here despite the fact that FORTRESS is only five years old). It seems that the world is having a population problem, and one of the measures instituted to correct this problem is a strict law allowing couples only one child. Violators of this law are labeled "Breeders" and sent to prison if discovered. Christopher Lambert and Loryn Locklin play such an unlucky couple who, despite their best efforts, are discovered to be expecting a second child (their first died very young) by the authorities. Sentenced to several decades of imprisonment, they are sent to the Fortress, an isolated prison surrounded by desert. It is here in the Fortress where things become interesting. A number of key surprises await the couple (and the viewers of the movie, of course) regarding the nature of the prison's staff, the creepy warden, and Zed, the computer which seems to have a mind of its own.
Though Christopher Lambert and Loryn Locklin adequately play their roles as the unlucky couple, the real star of this film is Kurtwood Smith, a veteran actor who really does a good job portraying the prison warden. His character is the most interesting in the film and responsible for the surprise plot twists.
Despite its solid plot, script, and cast, FORTRESS is not without its limitations. As mentioned before, the special effects (and the setting itself, for that matter) are a little on the campy side. Also, I felt a couple of the gory scenes, though by no means particularly excessive compared to other films of the same genre, didn't seem justified in this movie. FORTRESS, I'll admit, however, has the distinct quality of being the only film, to the best of my knowledge, where one may be "intestinized." Trust me, one does not want to be intestinized, as we graphically find out in this film. It is quite unpleasant. For a movie of this genre, I found FORTRESS, all in all, rather entertaining. Science fiction fans will definately find it worth watching.
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