The Fortress
Here Is What You Need To Know:
If you like your science-fiction to be dark and depressing, you'll love The Fortress. The Fortress is a futuristic super-prison where your every move and thought are watched and recorded, and you bet your ass they are saving and having a creepy HAL like artificial intelligence read you e mails. You betcha!
Highlander paycheck stealer, Christopher Lambert plays John who along with his wife Karen are thrown into the privately run prison called The Fortress because they violated the one child policy. I can appreciate the political statement being made in the direction of a certain country that will remain nameless but they probably made the mouse you are using right now! Don't look, they're watching! The Fortress is great in making you laugh at it, because it freaks you out. There are a lot of “oh yeah right, that would never happen,” moments. Lambert is stiff as usual but Kurtwood Smith is great as the Prison Director, you'll love him, dumbass! strike the insult if the reference is lost on you.
What Was Cool:
-The concept is really interesting and is a good conversation stimulator, even for breeder couples, I suppose.
-Kurtwood Smith really is a great deal of fun.
-Fortress does a great job of creating a creepy feel and sticking with it.
What Was Stupid:
-The film was obviously limited by its budget but a sharper script would have went a long way. Many of the concepts were not fully developed or explored.
-One stupid aspect is how our hero navigates around the security of the prison, without giving away too much, it was just unrealistic.
Story C+ (The writers, Steven Feinberg and Tom Neighbors, have done very little beyond the Fortress sequel, but don't be surprised if someday they hit with something big as Fortress shows some potential. Yet, one is left to wonder, what happened to you guys?
Use of Science C+ (The story touches on some gigantic concepts but fails to elaborate, too bad.)
Acting C
Portrayal of Women C+ (Sort of another victim role oriented script, again too bad.)
Visuals-VFX and SFX B-
Visuals-Set Design/Props B
Wardrobe/Costumes B
Style/Sex Appeal C
Enjoyability Grade C+
Home Theater/HD Factor B-
Gut Check (Level of Studio Executive Guts) C+
Overall Innovation C+
Overall Grade C+ (Fortress is just above average and that is so sad as this could have been a very thought-provoking film.)
A Little Fact About Cherie:
I have always wondered if Lambert would be swinging a sword when he was seventy. Will there be a Highlander 9 where he returns from the dead for the second or third time. Or will we be looking at Adrian Paul until he is too old to hold a stick? These are the big questions of our day.
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