Written by Robert Scucci | Published
If you have memories of watching 1992 The fortressyou can’t remember the name, and try to explain it to your friends, they will probably think that you thought of everything when you had a fever dream while you were home sick from school on a random Tuesday. Luckily, you’re not crazy, and what you remember is a real B-movie star starring Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, and a bunch of colorful inmates who look and act the part. A sinister cyberpunk prison break, full of explosions, government surveillance drones, powerful visions, and hostages. More on those later.
The fortress was a financial success, grossing $65 million against its reported production budget of $15 million. It was enough to spawn an equally bad sequel in 2000, but that’s chump change in comparison Refugeewhich drew nearly six times at the box office in the same month. Apart from money, The fortress wasn’t a critical darling upon release, and still sits in the gutter with a punishing 38% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While The fortress an actual movie that exists and is readily available for streaming, its reputation may prevent it from hitting the airwaves, which is a shame. It’s one of the weirdest ’90s movies to try to capture a mainstream audience, and for that reason alone it’s worth your time.
Retro-Futuristic Jailbreak Plot
Organized in the year 2017, The fortress introduces us to our hero, John Henry Brennick (Christopher Lambert), and his wife, Karen (Loryn Locklin). While trying to cross the US border into Canada, the couple is caught when it is revealed that Karen is pregnant, something that is strictly forbidden in this dystopian hellscape. Anywhere a couple is allowed to have a second child, even if the first one dies, which is exactly the situation John and Karen found themselves in. They have technically contributed to the overcrowding problem when you look at the numbers, but the law is the law, and they live in a brutal police state that doesn’t interfere.
In the future, in the mind of 1992, the prisons are run by the Men-Tel organization, and the prisoners are enslaved to keep the prison industrial complex alive and well. John is thrown into one such facility, known as the Citadel, where he is introduced to a group of ragtag inmates, including long-time scientist Abraham (Lincoln Kilpatrick), disgraced tech assistant D-Day, young cutter Nino Gomez (Clifton Collins Jr.), resident bully Maddox (Vernon Wells-Toggs-his-hand-hand).
Each prisoner in the Fort is fitted with a lethal device known as an intestinator, which will detonate their insides if they step out of line. Literally. In charge of all the work behind closed doors is Poe, the always cynical and unscrupulous prison warden portrayed by Kurtwood Smith.
Unbeknownst to John, though he won’t stay in the dark for long, Poe has been imprisoned and Karen is in another section of the prison, with plans to destroy her unborn child once convicted. She would have an abortion soon, but in the future abortion is illegal, and infanticide is the solution. Determined to reunite with his wife and become a father again, John Henry Brennick gathers troops and begins planning his escape, despite the reluctance of Abraham, who is a little closer to parole for comfort.
There are brawls, mind-wiping gyrospheres, laser cages, and moving platforms in the Fortress, all monitored and controlled by the Zed-10 computer system. Poe, who has disturbing intentions for Karen, stands as the unshakable link between salvation and certain death, and John Henry Brennick represents the challenge, consequences must be condemned.
It’s So Strange To Live, So Rare To Die
The fortress it always felt destined to be a forgotten relic, but it could have had a different fate with more star power attached. The script was reportedly written with a traditionally popular star in mind, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but director Stuart Gordon wanted everyone, which brought Christopher Lambert into the equation. And when it comes to one lead role, there can only be one!
While a megastar like Schwarzenegger might put a lot of asses on seats, it’s hard to imagine The fortress and anyone else who leads. Lambert’s deep gaze doesn’t just look into your soul, it looks into it. For what is an impossibly big-budget B-movie, it feels about right the way it is.
The castle dystopian, campy, and incredibly violent, it strikes a strange balance between being mainstream and not weird enough to fully cement itself as a cult classic. It also incorporates all the tried-and-true action tropes that critics have tired of by then, becoming one of the hundreds of thrillers doing the rounds, all trying to do the same thing.
Still, it deserves a second look because its ambition is greater than its reputation, and it’s a solid popcorn sound whether you remember it or not. As of this writing, The fortress streaming for free on Tubi.
