Audience Member
Christopher Lambert returns as Brennick and is once again sent to a space prison and once again devises a plan to escape from the aforementioned hi-ech space prison. However, this time you're minus a strong director (Stuart Gordon "Re-Animator" "From Beyond") and a strong supporting cast (Jeffrey Combs "The Frighteners" "Deep Space Nine," Kurtwood Smith "Robocp" "That 70's Show," Vernon Wells "The Road Warrior" "Commando," or Tom Towles "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" "The Devil's Rejects"). With this sequel, you have none of the returning cast outside of Lambert, who isn't the best actor but who does have an undeniable on-screen charism and is the sole reason to watch this film. There is Pam Grier as the evil prison warden, which is fun though. You also have Geoff Murphy as director, who's made a few decent films, such as "Young Guns II," "Utu," and "The Quiet Earth" but who's also made his share of stinkers (i.e. "Freejack" "Under Siege 2" "Dante's Peak"). One reason the first film is better is because that film was originally developed as a vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger during his heyday, falling between "Terminator 2" and "True Lies," who was a big fan of Gordon's "Re-Animator" after her stunt double (who appeared in "Re-Animator") and consequentially brought him on as director. Arnold dropped out and the budget went from $70 million to $15, but that original film was still a clever bit of musclebound sci-fi. This sequel, filmed 8 years later, feels like a direct-to-video cash grab and that's pretty much what you get. It's not terrible, but it's a fairly routine prison break story in a sci-fi setting. Not awful, but nothing worth seeking out unless you are a major Christoper Lambert fan.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
If you are going to set your movie in space, and you cannot make your "in space scenes" credible due to budget restrictions and talent limitations, then don't set the movie in space. This movie could have been set in a mine on Earth without losing so much credibility. How Christopher Lambert continued to make movies, I will never understand. He only had one character he played in every movie, and it was terrible each time.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
Frances H
Not as good as the first one, but good enough to watch once.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
09/10/18
Full Review
Audience Member
Sequel to Fortress, this is a is a decent affair, one that is quite entertaining and is worth seeing if you enjoy low budget action films. The original wasn't the best film, but it was good, and this one is a decent affair that retains the vibe of the original and uses a proven formula to deliver something worthwhile for genre fans. If you're in the mood for a pleasant B movie action flick, and have seen the first, then you're sure to enjoy this one. The film is manages to entertain, and it's one of those movies that definitely will appeal to genre fans. Although never anything great, the film is a pleasant time waster that deserves to be rediscovered by B movie fans. Of course the film has silly moments, but that's where it gets its charm. I enjoy low budget action flicks, and for a sequel, it's entertaining enough considering that it's so low budget. If you're a fan of these films, you're going to like this one, though it's not a perfect film, compared to the Highlander sequels, this is a far better affair starring Lambert. Fortress 2 sticks to a proven method of action filmmaking, and though it has shortcomings, it's a fun film if you enjoy this genre. The acting here is average, and is nothing great considering that is B movie stuff, but for the most part, it succeeds at delivers an hour and a half of entertainment value for viewers looking for mindless action. There might be better B movies out there, but for what it is, it's better than what people give it credit for.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Nowhere in this movie does it even come close to being as good as the first one. This is however a decent waste of an hour and a half,and isn't a bad rainy day movie. The only returning characters is Lambert and his wife from the original,yet she only appears for 10 minutes total. This isn't a terrible standalone movie but its a sequel to a much superior early 90's sci fi masterpiece. One more final note....this is probably Pam Grier's most shitty I need a paycheck role. Her male voiced character from Escape From L.A is a million times more interesting than her waste of screen time here.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Follow up to the first film, pretty much the same plot, as a man tries to escape from a futuristic maximum security prison, this time orbiting way into space away from Earth. It's really quite dull, messy and campy.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
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