Synopsis:

In 2015, Prisons have been privatized and corporations have turned hard time into big business. Given the population explosion, America of the future has mandated one child per family rules. If the first child dies at birth, makes no difference. One child is one child. The common rule of thumb is if you even suspect your pregnant head for the border and hope that they cannot detect your fetus. John and Karen Brennick are in this situation. After the death of their first child, they got pregnant a second time and headed toward the Mexican border. At an elaborate Checkpoint Charlie, her pregnancy is discovered and her husband (Christopher Lambert) fights off the police force in an attempt to secure the freedom of his family. No match for their dogs and weapons, John Brannick succumbs to the brutality and is subsequently sentenced to 31 years in prison for his crime.

As this is the future normal prison structures would not suffice. Brannick and a tractor-trailer load of prisoners are transported to the middle of a desert where they are introduced to the Men-Tel corporations' underground, technologically enhanced penitentiary. 33 stories beneath the earth, these men are transported to their new homes. Here, you cannot dream, disobey or challenge. If you choose to break these rules the results can be deadly.

With 31 years to do, Brennick is intent on securing his freedom by any means necessary. Do you smell a jailbreak in his future? Fortress may be campy at times but for the most part it's a decent experience.

Audio/Video:

The audio for Fortress is only presented in 2.0. Loud but lackluster is the best way in which to describe it. All the audio comes from the center and the two fronts. Given the tremendous amount of explosions and firing from left to right by weapons fire, a 5.1 platform would have really enhanced this film. Video-wise, the film is presented in a full frame format that suffers from a significant amount of transfer errors that I guess given it's already less than stellar treatment should have been expected. The film is generally soft in appearance and boasts a great deal of scratches and fleckings throughout the whole of the picture. A fair amount of grain is also evident. While I noticed no pixellation to speak of, the aforementioned transfer issues are more than enough to cover the films sloppy video presentation.

Extras:

Essentially a bare bones disc, Fortress carries the film's trailer as well as production notes cast and crew bios.

Overall:

I liked this movie when I saw it a long time ago. Seeing it with some distance has given me a different perspective on the flick. While it's still a lit of fun and has some neat action/fight scenes, it hasn't aged very well. The futuristic imagery is pretty neat but not nearly as plausible now as it may have been way back yonder. Great movie, no but it's a neat film to watch. For the pricepoint I got it at I can't really complain too much. I must say though, I would have preferred a widescreen presentation as opposed to the full frame but for 12.99 who's arguing! Rent it