B-17 la forteresse volante

I hate seeing people unfairly underrating films because they are not happy with seeing unknown actors and graphics that don't reach super tech status...give them a chance, these guys have created an enjoyable b movie that easily equals anything that a more known actor can make. Why do you all down talk graphics and special effects? its not always the graphics that make the film,do you think you can do any better? ...i didn't think so or you'd have done it by now....this movie was better than many i have seen so far these last few months and as it was based on true facts i wasn't expecting anything overly exciting to happen but was impressed by the story and will happily watch it again another day with my partner.

Laughable movie. Good CG, but someone did not do their history lesson. While B-17s did operate out of Africa, there were nowhere near the numbers the movie shows. Heck, there weren't that many in Europe at the time! The aircraft depicted are the wrong model and are sporting European camouflage schemes, not North African schemes. Crews in Africa did not walk around in sheep skin flight clothing during the day and it is near freezing at night in the desert. At the operating altitudes of the B-17s and B-24s, the temperatures are at or near 50 degrees below zero. No one is wearing light flight clothing. They are festooned in electrically heated flight suits and flak gear. No one is eating or drinking anything because it would be frozen.

In the aerial combat scenes, weapons are fired in bursts for a number of reasons. And, there is no such thing as a P-40 Warhawk dogfighting a Bf-109; the former was hopelessly outclassed by the later. In the more recent movie, "Redtails," there is a reason the black fighter units were employed only as ground support and not fighter escort. The P-40 was incapable of doing the job as fighter to high-altitude bombers.

I could go on. Basically, this movie is a video game in which you have no control. But, the crew interaction was well done.

With the advent of CGI, the story of the 8th Air Force in Europe during WWII is begging to be told. The visual effects in this film were very good--I just wish they had shown the B-17s over Germany instead. Over a hundred thousand young men were killed in B-17s and B-24s over the skies of the Third Reich. Spielberg needs to make this film.

"Fortress" is a great first step, and I thank the producers for doing what big-time Hollywood could not. They made a much better film than "Memphis Belle", which was so badly Hollywoodized that the story it told about a real airplane and its crew was in no way the real story.

In "Memphis Belle", six actual B-17s were used, along with large radio-controlled models. One B-17 was lost during the production.

With CGI, hundreds of 17s and 24s can fill the skies, and the look is incredibly realistic. "Fortress" is definitely worth seeing.

The short and skinny here is, if you like war films (i.e. Memphis Belle (1990)) and want to kill 90 mins or so, this movie will do the trick. The writing isn't terrible...the story is acceptable...the actors are all unknowns (except Chris Owen, "The Shermanator" of American Pie fame) but manage to hold their own and deliver their lines convincingly enough. There were a few scenes where the the backgrounds were a little weak (poor green screening), but they weren't very long and weren't game-breakers. I have seen many, many B-Rated movies and this one was a surprise in that it succeeded in not being an A rated film, and at the same time, better than most B rated films. It's a diamond in the rough, but entertaining enough to not be a total waste of time.

and the dialog is just too modern. this is a very poorly directed movie too. but the worst thing in this movie is the sound track, the music to support the movie simply carelessly and mindless broadcast its own tune that got nothing to do with the storyline and the plot. the cgi of the first air sortie at the very beginning was also poorly crafted, it looks just too fake, the b-17s in the sky were just like a kid's drawing, the air battle also look very disconnected. what bothered me most was the music during the air raid, it played and played so loud, not just blocked the dialog but also further ruined the realistic feeling of the movie itself. then the whole movie suddenly aground on the airbase, those young actors were just poor 3rd rated non-talents. their acting simply further ruined the already too bad movie. i really doubt that people would have the patience to watch along and finish it. this is a poorly produced movie that should not put into production in the first place. if i have to use one word to describe this movie, it would be: "BORING". there's no sense to sit through the whole nine yard to the end. it's a b-movie's b movie, not even worth paying $1.00 to rent the DVD.