Cast: Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Clifton Gonzalez
Director: Stuart Gordan
Producers: John Davis and John Flock
Screenplay: Steve Feinberg, Troy Neighbors, and Terry Curtis Fox
Cinematography: David Eggby
Music: Frederic Talgorn
U.S. Distributor: Dimension Films
It's the year 2018 and the population explosion in the United States is out of control. The government has instituted laws that prohibit a woman from having more than one baby, but when the only son of John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife Karen (Loryn Locklin) dies as an infant, the couple tries for another child -- and gets caught. Both are sent to the most feared prison in the country: The Fortress, a maximum security establishment from which escape is impossible. To ensure prisoner cooperativeness, each new entry is fitted with a globe in the intestines that, upon disobedience, can cause either pain or death, depending on the nature of the infraction. The Fortress is not a nice place, and its director (Kurtwood Smith) is an emotionless servant of machines.
Every time a movie about the near future presents such a bleak picture of life on Earth, I always hope for a reasonable explanation about how things got so bad. Personally, I don't think that's too much to ask. However, for the most part, the film makers don't agree (apologies to pictures such as the Terminator series), since they could care less about such details. They have a specific situation that needs to be set up to tell their story; everything else is irrelevant. Fortress falls right into that category. We can make a few guesses based on clues presented in the film, but even the best picture will be incomplete.
The early minutes of Fortress are brimming with promise. Scenes bristle with the potential of interesting characters, strong interaction, and intelligent plot twists. Alas, little or nothing comes of these; they become a method of cruel teasing, tantalizing the viewer with what might have been. The film degenerates from intriguing to routine to dumb, all in the space of ninety minutes. By the end, it's all formula. The action has become commonplace and the characters flat.
The cast does a reasonable job. Christopher Lambert is probably a better actor than the role deserves, and he occasionally manages to make Jack Brennick believable. Similar praise goes to Loryn Locklin, an attractive blonde who infuses her character with strength of mind and heart. Lincoln Kilpatrick does as much as he can with a secondary part, creating one of the few minor characters that the audiences cares about.
One thing Fortress has going for is an impressive visual style -- at least for those who can stand a lot of gore. There are exploding stomachs, dismembered bodies, and a great deal of blood - - all done quite graphically, for the most part (would you expect anything different from the director of Re-Animator?). The set design is excellent, and the action scenes are well- paced, if lacking in legitimate suspense.
Fortress isn't terrible science fiction, but it's pretty bad. Hampered by a poorly- constructed storyline, the movie never gets on track. Instead of entering the rarefied atmosphere inhabited by such films as Aliens and the original Terminator, it falls in line with the likes of Freejack and Alien 3. Not the best company to be in, but it could be worse. Watch 1992's Split Second and you'll understand how bad things can get in this genre. After that experience, Fortress will look like high art.
© 1993 James Berardinelli