Fortress 2 - Réincarcération

Christopher Lambert; the king of newer B-movies. The guy has been in every(I think) Highlander movie so far, despite the fact that only the first was particularly popular. He's done so many B-movies that one has to wonder if he is aware that the films are bad and doesn't care, or if he really doesn't realize their quality(or, rather, lack thereof). Here, he returns in a sequel to the fairly low-budget B-movie action-science fiction flick, Fortress. In the first one, the prison was huge, and underneath the ground. Here, it's... well, it's still huge, but this time, it's in outer space. I guess the writer thought, hey, the first time, it was underneath the ground... the only place that could be worse than that would be outer space. I hope he's right... I surely do, because if he is, maybe we won't see anymore half-cooked action-sci-fi flicks like this. Lambert portrays the exact same character, which I suppose is good, as he was a decent character in the first. A few somewhat big names also join the cast, most noticeably Pam Grier. The cast of characters from the first are pretty much remade(apart from Lambert himself), meaning that the new cast pretty much just fills the shoes of the characters from the first(anyone who knows how the first ended knows why). Unfortunately, that means that the film seems more like an overblown remake with the same guy portraying the lead, rather than a sequel. The hacker from the first(who was a neurotic, nervous guy, beautifully portrayed by great horror-talent, Jeffrey Combs) is replaced by an annoying black-guy stereotype. The female lead is replaced by a girl from the resistance(which Lambert's character is said to be a member of as well... odd... I don't remember that from the first... does that mean he joined the resistance after he got a kid? Who'd do that?), instead of his wife as it was in the first... apparently mainly because the scriptwriter couldn't find a good way to capture both Lambert and the wife-character, without capturing the kid. The Men-Tel prison commander(who was played by the cool bad-guy actor, Kurtwood Smith, from RoboCop fame) is now an annoying wimp with a ridiculous British accent that really gets on your nerves(as opposed to the cool Smith, who was a menacing and threatening presence). The plot is a rehash of the first. The pacing isn't particularly good. The very scenes in the movie seems to be(for the most part) remakes of the scenes of the original(talk about lack of originality...) and the action is mostly just rehashes of the first, just made a little less exciting(remember those way-cool machine guns with three barrels in the first? They're replaced with dull futuristic-looking stick-stun-guns). The special effects are decent at best. The script is a weak rehash of the first, with a few added sub-plots, none of which being particularly good... most of them are just there to keep the film going, or put it an action scene, in order to distract the audience from the poor writing. The dialog is pretty bad, with one or two exceptions. All in all, the film is just a tame rehash of everything the first was(which isn't even a lot). Somebody took the first film, said, "hey, this is popular... but it's not very good... how about if we try to do something of even lesser quality and see if people will like it?" Probably writer/producer/actor John Flock, who, going by the plot and the writing of this film, really is as dumb as he looks. I recommend this only to huge fans of the first Fortress, Lambert or B-movies. Everyone else; don't bother. There's a million better ways to spend 90 minutes, and there's at least as many reasons not to see this film. 5/10

So Patrick Malahide is Teller, the prison governor. Okay. However, Patrick Malahide was also Chisholm in Minder, and I don't think the filmmakers realised just how off-putting that would be - you keep expecting a spluttering Arfur Daley to be hustled into his office instead of a stony-faced Chris Lambert. Well, I did, anyway.

Of course, that wouldn't be too likely as this new Fortress is in orbit 26,000 miles above Earth, which, when it's suddenly revealed (to the horror of the oblivious prisoners/"labourers"), feels like it should have been a key twist that you couldn't possibly have seen coming... bit of a shame that it's given away in the tagline on the front of the video, then.

Anyway, yeah, what everyone else said: it's Fortress 1, only not as good. The sets and effects are basically fine, some of the set pieces are pretty tense (if ridiculously set up), but the flimsy script, non-existent pacing, absence of worthwhile new ideas and charisma-free supporting cast all seem to have come from a film with one tenth of the budget - Pam Grier excepted, though she may as well not be in it at all considering the total irrelevance of her character.

And does everyone really have to talk so quietly? I know they're in prison, but Mr. Lambert always whispers everything anyway - and here so does Patrick Malahide, so get ready for a lot of scowling and rewinding if you want to follow the few halfhearted shreds of plot on offer.

Oh yeah, and that very last scene is, basically, the worst thing ever. It's not even as if The Laugh can save it, as Chris has already put The Laugh to much better effect about twenty minutes earlier...

"YOU are going to pardon ME? Heh heh heh."

He hasn't lost it.

This is a Prison movie with high-tech science fiction , following to ¨The fortress¨ directed by Stuart Gordon in which Lambert is imprisoned because another son was born and in the future it's prohibited . In a futuristic USA , it's forbidden to give birth to more than one child for each woman and then things go wrong . The motion picture is supposed to take place 7 years after the former , as John (Christopher Lambert) is a rebel whom the resistance asking for help , but he escapes to avoid the authorities in USA , which is exactly what he and his wife Karen Brennick (Beth Toussiant replacing Loryn Locklyn) were trying to do when with her second son (their first child was born dead) escape . When they think they have made it , he is discovered and put to prison . With those odds , John still plans to getaway . Prison's chief (Patrick Malahide , replacing Kurtwood Smith) , located in a space station , is a villain who punishes to inmates with tortures and using cruel technological security measures . This is a modern and more sophisticated prison called the "Fortress" where the prisoners are controlled by lasers , neutron-cannons , cameras , mind-scanners and electronic pain-causing devices in their stomachs . John/Christopher Lambert along with other prisoners (Liz May Brice , Nick Brimble , John Sharian) will face off the prison director (Patrick Malahide) and his wardens (Okumoto).

The picture blends thrills , suspense , violence , drama, action ,struggles and some nudism . It is set 7 years after the original when rebels are captured and sent to a new fortress prison , in outer space , there takes place an exciting final confrontation between the starring and baddies , it is very stimulating and gets some exciting surprises . Special appearance of the Blaxploitiation goddess , Pan Grier . Runtime film is adequate , it is fast moving and is neither boring , nor tiring , but bemusing . Atmospheric cinematography and adequate score fitting to action by Christopher Franke . The motion picture obtained little success and failed at Box office . This second part bears a similar plot to previous entry , but isn't as nice as the first . The picture was regularly directed by Geoff Murphy who also realized the second installment to ¨Young guns¨ with more success than this one . The film will appeal to Science fiction buffs and Christopher Lambert fans . Rating : 5/10 , average .

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good SCI-FI flick as much as anybody. Especially when Christopher Lambert is the star. I really liked the first Fortress Adventure. But it seems as if they made a sequel just for the sake of making a sequel. The basic story line is the pretty much the same as the first. Brennick gets caught by Mental, hence Brennick is once again in a prison(fortress). This time in outer space. How will our hero ever escape? I won't say too much if you havn't seen it. But what i will say is that this movie opened my eyes to a new kind of science discovery, appearently a person CAN hold his/her breath in outer space without spacesuit or helmet........right... Anyways, if you are looking for a SCI-FI flick and have NOTHING else to watch. I recommend watching this movie. The visual effects are great. Sound is respectable. You might think I didnt like this movie, actually I own the DVD. Even though this movie wasn't a huge hit, do you think we will get to see a Fortress 3: Banished to the Planet Ziest....(it would be a good tie-in for Highlander 2 or not...)

I wouldn't say Fortress 2 was an utter disaster like many of you have pointed out.

I'm a big fan of the first Fortress movie, and recently while in my local Blockbuster store I spotted Fortress 2 sitting on the selves. So me being a massive Christopher Lambert & Fortress fan I jumped at the chance of renting it.

I don't like the idea of the new Fortress being located in space it doesn't work out right in the long run. Fortress 2 is pretty much the same. The intestinators from the first movie have been replaced by a sort of camera which is implanted into your brain there's the usual evil prison director controlling the Fortress and ZED the talking computer is back. Brennicks wife, Karen, is also back, but replaced with a different actor.

To cut a long story short. The Fortress has now been turned into a giant power station which is floating around in space and is owned by the Mentel co-oporation. Inmates are kept there to keep it in working order and to build new structures for the Fortress. John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) gets caught (again) and is thrown back into the Fortress. He then sets out struggling to find a way out.

Like most sequels Lambert has starred in. I feel that Fortress 2 was rushed, there's giant gaps in the movie which could of been filled in with maybe some clever dialogue or interesting scenes.

Overall, being a massive Lambert fan even I must agree that this movie is below average.

4/10