FORTRESS

* * ½ 

STARRING: Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklyn, Kurtwood Smith, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez, Jeffrey Combs

1993, 91 Minutes, Directed by: Stuart Gordon

Description: Takes place in drastically overpopulated America of the year 2017, where each woman is allowed only one pregnancy. John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife Karen (Loryn Locklin) flee to Mexico when she becomes pregnant after the death of their first child. They are captured by border police and sent to the Fortress, a subterranean high-security prison owned by the Men-Tel corporation and operated by "Zed-10," an omnipotent computer system, and a sadistic, genetically "enhanced" warden (Kurtwood Smith) who has nefarious plans involving Brennick's wife and unborn child. Along with his cellmates (including Jeffrey Combs, a favourite of director Stuart Gordon), Brennick plots a breakout. — Amazon.com

Violent action movie set in a future dystopian America in which ordinary citizens are bar-coded like supermarket produce by the fascist goverment and prisons are run by huge multinational corporations.

After trying to flee to Canada Christopher (Highlander) Lambert and his wife are both sent to one of these high-tech prisons. See, because of overpopulation couples are only allowed one child (a bit like mainland China I suppose) and they have exceeded their qouta. They (obviously) try to escape - there wouldn't be too much of a plot otherwise, would there? The only problem is that the prisoners' dreams and thoughts are monitored by an omniscient computer which is in turn run by a sadistic warden (which movie warden isn't?), which turns out to be an android. But things make a turn for the better when a long-haired hippie loads a virus into the system . . .

Duh!? Lots of unrealistic blood and gore for action freaks, but little for anyone else. Better acting would have helped this film, but Lambert and cohorts are truly atrocious.

The only amazing thing about Fortress is that a sequel with a title sounding vaguely like a porno flick (Fortress 2: Re-entry) hit the video shelves in 1999 . . .
 

• See also: Cold Fusion Video Reviews.