In a futuristic USA, it's forbidden to give birth to more than one child for each woman. As usual, you can escape to Mexico to avoid the authorities in USA, which is exactly what John and Karen Brennick were trying to do when Karen is pregnant with her second child (their first child was born dead). When they think they have made it they are discovered and put to prison (for 31 years), a modern prison called the "Fortress" where the prisoners are controlled by lasers, neutron-cannons, cameras, mind-scanners and electronic pain-causing devices in their stomachs. With those odds, John still plans to escape with his wife. In 2017, John Henry Brennick and his wife Karen are captured at a US immigration point with an illegal baby during population control. The resulting prison experience is the subject of the movie. The prison is run by a private corporation bent on mind control. In a dystopian future, a morally innocent couple is sentenced to decades of imprisonment in a high security nightmare-like prison, and plan to escape. The premise of Fortress is intriguing. It kind of reminds me of the prison scenes of the 1997 film Face/Off, which were incidentally among the better scenes of that film. Unfortunately, Fortress fails to deliver.<br/><br/>With this premise, I was expecting an elaborate escape. The kind we got used to with old classics like The Great Escape to modern series like Prison Break, only this time set in a gritty future prison where screenwriters could invent the most terrifyingly inescapable jail imaginable and the cleverest escape plans. Fortress had none of that, since the protagonists just escaped guns blazing. What's up with the yellow and red lines on the floor? I was expecting those to be major plot points… But no. No elaborate plan, no stress, the prison doesn't even seem that bad, and the build up to the escape is practically inexistent. Speaking of build ups, did anyone care for the protagonists? I certainly didn't - that's the second major flaw. I also feel the sub-plot with the wife being coerced was a drawback. I didn't care for that, and wanted a cool escape plan. That's all the film needed! On the other hand, I was entertained for 90 minutes. I wasn't bored because the film is short enough. Had they given the film 30 minutes more and a genuinely clever build up and escape, Fortress could have been much better. Disappointing. Its about a totalitarian society where people only have one chance at having a kid. They have this futuristic super max, with these ingestible detectors, and a computer mainframe warden. This film is great, watch for the scene with the d day computer virus, it is a classic. The character development, and acting is decent. Worth renting, I love this film.
Scipvaw replied
370 weeks ago