Fortress (Stuart Gordon, 1992)

Fortress is one of my fondest teenage memories. I was 15 years old and I think it must be the first movie for adults I saw in cinema (together with my brother Paul, but I don’t remember which cinema it was…). I remember it was cool but cheap-looking… and it has its reasons. Once upon a time Arnold Schwarzenegger got himself a copy of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator. He showed it at his house to some producer friends – and suddenly Gordon was contracted to direct Fortress, with a budget between 60-70 million dollars in budget, which was a lot in Hollywood at the time, and Arnold in the lead! But as usual, in the twisted world of showbiz, something happen – Arnold dropped out of the movie and the budget was cut to 10-15 millions of dollar, which is a drastic cut! Arnold probably made either Terminator 2 or The Last Action Hero, but I think Fortress could have been a cooler project for him.

So out with Arnold and in with Christopher Lambert.

No, make no mistake here. I love Lambert. He’s an odd actor, a weird talent, sometimes bored to death and from time to time inspired like hell. I’m not sure he’s so perfect here, but Lambert is Brennick for me nowadays. Fortress feels a lot like a vehicle for Arnold, but just a lot cheaper. A LOT CHEAPER. Here’s the story. Brennick and his wife (Loryn Locklin, and she’s great – but I would rather see Barbara Crampton in the part) has made a terrible mistake – she’s pregnant for the second time (their first child died at birth) and in this futuristic world that’s a crime. They’re trying to sneak into Mexico, but Brennick is arrested and moved to a underground prison in the desert. There he hooks up with young latino criminal Nino (Clifton Collins Jr.), super-smart weirdo D-Day (Jeffrey Combs, of course!) and evil thug Stiggs (Tom Towles). Brennick wants out, and when he realizes his wife actually was arrested and is in the same prison he starts to plan his escape!

Even with a budget of 15 million dollars it looks quite cheap. The matte paintings doesn’t hold up, the sets feels a bit wobbly from time to time and yeah, the style of the film feels like a big budget b-movie. This is not bad of course, because it’s directed by Stuart Gordon who’s one of the finest genre directors ever. He can handle every kind of genre and here he makes a cheap movie look awesome with a lot of cool special effects, quirky characters and bloody action. Because it’s a bloody and violent flick, and I think I even saw the R-rated version which actually loses a little bit graphic violence. But it doesn’t matter, it’s still packed with gory deaths, squibs and some awesome ricochet sparkling gun action. Lambert is good, and the longer the movie goes on he feels more comfortable shooting people with a big gun and fighting Vernon Wells.

Jeffrey Combs makes another fine performance as D-Day, but the best actor is – as usual when he’s around – Kurtwood Smith as prison director Poe (that name can’t be a coincidence). The man’s one of the best character actors in Hollywood, for example in Alexander Payne’s 1996 satirical masterpiece Citizen Ruth. He’s good here, stealing every scene he’s in – and making a surprisingly complex and multi-layered performance of a character that probably just was a simple baddie in the script.

Fortress might be cheesy and silly, but it’s made with heart and passion and is not ashamed of being a big budget exploitation movie from a time when movies got glossier and slicker. Fortress firmly stays in the cheapo school of filmmaking, and does it with pride.

Comments

[Megatron]

"Fortress is one of my fondest teenage memories."

You are not alone.....this is film I used to see in high school.

"I remember it was cool but cheap-looking… and it has its reasons."

It was lowbudget but entertaining , that was my first impression, just like No Escape (1994)and many other similiar looking films.

"Once upon a time Arnold Schwarzenegger got himself a copy of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator. He showed it at his house to some producer friends – and suddenly Gordon was contracted to direct Fortress, with a budget between 60-70 million dollars in budget, which was a lot in Hollywood at the time, and Arnold in the lead! But as usual, in the twisted world of showbiz, something happen – Arnold dropped out of the movie and the budget was cut to 10-15 millions of dollar, which is a drastic cut! Arnold probably made either Terminator 2 or The Last Action Hero, but I think Fortress could have been a cooler project for him."

I had no idea.....but not unusual production story.

I like Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)so I´m glad he did that one, today he is too old I think.

But Fortress (1992) would have been cool to see him do, lately he did Escape Plan(2013)with Sylvester Stallone, I haven´t seen it yet but it looks fun.

"No, make no mistake here. I love Lambert. He’s an odd actor, a weird talent, sometimes bored to death and from time to time inspired like hell."

Lambert is an odd bird, isn´t he....?

I like some of the stuff he has done, I really liked him in the overblown The Sicilian (1987)for some reason.

"Even with a budget of 15 million dollars it looks quite cheap. The matte paintings doesn’t hold up, the sets feels a bit wobbly from time to time and yeah, the style of the film feels like a big budget b-movie. This is not bad of course, because it’s directed by Stuart Gordon who’s one of the finest genre directors ever."

It does have some b qualities, but I still got fond memories of it...hahahhahahahha...weird.

"Because it’s a bloody and violent flick, and I think I even saw the R-rated version which actually loses a little bit graphic violence. But it doesn’t matter, it’s still packed with gory deaths, squibs and some awesome ricochet sparkling gun action."

I had no idea that were different cuts of this film......I remember some truly, graphic, violent scenes.

I think Lambert cuts the arm off an android or cyborg, and opens the mask or helmet.......not a pretty sight.

"but the best actor is – as usual when he’s around – Kurtwood Smith as prison director Poe (that name can’t be a coincidence)."

Ohhhhh...Smith...he has made some truly fine performances in various genre pics.....just look at him in RoboCop(1987), or a film that you wrote about Flashpoint(1984), truly menacing and creepy.

"Fortress might be cheesy and silly, but it’s made with heart and passion and is not ashamed of being a big budget exploitation movie from a time when movies got glossier and slicker."

Yeah, it´s slice of Camembert.......but ya´know....add some bread, crackers or whatever.....it will taste good.

Great review, Fred.