Throughout Fortress there is a heavy handed dollop of dehumaization that gets on the verge of tiresome. The men are separated from their wives and have to stand in a cattle cart until they reach a giant hole in the middle of the desert that is the fortress. They must then remove wedding rings and any sentimental signs of a past life, strip and put on orange uniforms with bar codes, are given numbers for names and are punished for disobedience / having an opinion. They are to become drones, slaving away in the day and sharing five to a cell in the night. The only problem is John Brennick ain't no drone (thank the Lord, I don't think I could handle any more scenes of OTT prisoner oppression).
The men are quickly shown just what happens if you don't behave or try to escape in the fortress. They are told "Crime does not pay" and any crime or disobedience results in setting off the Intestinator: a small, explosive object that is swallowed by every prisoner when they enter the fortress that causes agony or death depending on the severity of the crime. A nervous man starts to freak out at the excessive rules of the Men-Tel corporation. He is warned not to try to escape or to go over the yellow lines (which mean pain) or the red lines (which mean death). The man panics and runs, causing his stomach to explode. Just how will our hero escape?
A typical trait of the prison genre is having cell mates with skills or brawn to help aid the storyline along. Fortress is no exception and John Brennick is put in a cell with a computer geek who can give the automated sophistication of Men-Tel a run for it's money and a brawny guy who, after letting his buddy "187" rape Mexican prisoner Gomez, becomes a good chum to the gang and a great bullet proof jacket when they try to escape. It results in his death but hey, that's karma. Brennick not only has the prospect of agonising death as a reason to escape, his wife has been chosen to live with the director of Men-Tel: a half man half robot who has amino acids injected into himself once a month as a way of eating and who has emotions yet can not have sex. The director is lonely and invades the men's subconscious to watch their frequent fantasies of making love to women in mouth-open fascination. That is, of course, before the all seeing computer and all round mega-bitch warns him that he must punish the men for having personal thoughts. It is then we realise that this man is to be the downfall of Men-Tel. He is not enough of a robot to be completely controlled and to not yearn for love but is not enough of a man to please any woman or make them fall in love with him.
There is a lot of violence and gore in Fortress that nearly always involves our protagonist. This shows us John's battle for his individuality, human rights and his morals. There is the fight to defend Gomez from rape and the gladiatorial battle to the death with 187 to save himself and his friend from being killed. When 187 is at Brennick's mercy he is told by Men-Tel to kill the prisoner, but he refuses and helps 187 to his feet. As punishment for showing humanity he has to watch 187 be inestinated before being taken to isolation. What follows isolation is the mind wiping room. Fortress had a modest budget but the use of costumes and set is used to full effect. The mind wiping room in particular has a shining futuristic torture device, checkered floor and minimal props. During his mind wipe the movie takes a psychedelic and metaphorical turn (well as psychedelic and metaphorical as technology in the early 90s allows) as the trip takes John through his past as a pilot, his wedding day and then into disturbingly flashy and spinning sights of snakes in cradles, a foetus in a jar and the gouging out of John's own eyes. The mind wipe leaves John a drooling mess but once Karen has drugged the Director she breaks into the computer system and into John's mind where there is a tres film noir moment. John's subconscious is in black and white, he has regressed to childhood and is trapped down a well. Karen must draw him out of his psychological hell and reaches her hand out to boy John who slowly changes to John the man. Deep.
With John back from his mind coma the cell mates plan their escape and remove their intestinators. Once this is done they work their way up to the Director's floor to try and save Karen. They get found in the pipes and are told to give themselves up. What follows is an impressive gun fight between man and robot. Karen, meanwhile, tries to kill the Director by stabbing him as he strangles Brennick's
Gomez, John and Karen escape in a truck and stop at a barn so Karen can give birth in safety. But what's this? A truck controlled by Men-Tel? It flattens Gomez and has a fight to the death with John who blows it up with his robot gun before racing back to his wife who has given birth. The film ends with the couple smiling with joy at their baby while surrounded by lush, green nature and wide open spaces to symbolise their freedom. Or something in your face like that. Overall Fortress is an above average action movie that gives pause for thought about our future in a populated world. It's no Escape From New York granted, but for a budgeted prison movie with a bit of a brain (with the lovely bonus of the wonderfully whispering and perfectly pensive Christopher Lambert) what more could you want?
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