DigitalRevenantX7 As far as prison films go, FORTRESS was the most ridiculous & over the top, as well as being relentlessly stupid (the Hong Kong flick STORY OF RICKY was also over the top but was actually meant as a comic book film). The biggest surprise about it was the fact that it was very successful in international release. So successful that it gained a sequel half a decade later.John Brennick, one of the only three people to escape the Fortress, is living the quiet life with his wife Karen & young son Danny. When the Men-Tel Corporation sends in a crack commando squad to capture the family, John is recaptured while his family escapes. Sent to a new 'escape-proof' prison, Brennick tries to bust out – not an easy thing to do when you're trapped in a space station orbiting the Earth.The thing about Fortress 2: Re-Entry is that it is not as bad as the original. Sure, it has its moments of stupidity – the space station has gravity but does not rotate (although that same fault is used by almost every space-set sci-fi film); shuttles dock with the station as if they were regular planes & the prisoners are sent into space with spacesuits that don't have tethers; a prisoner manages to wire an optical implant onto a cockroach & those same implants are inserted into the prisoners' necks but somehow transmit sensory information to the prison's computer – but it is not as stupid as the first film was (despite the fact that two of the first film's scribes wrote the story for this one).To its credit, Re-Entry has some passable action scenes – a highlight being a scene where Lambert takes on a flamethrower-wielding prisoner while armed with a makeshift weapon & shield; the climax is more spectacular, with the prisoners trying to escape by shuttle while the station breaks apart; & the visual effects, while consisting of cheap CGI, are competent. Not to mention a couple of plot points that make for good sci-fi – the part where Lambert is placed in a bubble situated on the station's exterior, which exposes him to direct sunlight (which is very hot in space) & freezing cold alternately, & a cool scene where Lambert is blown out of the airlock without a spacesuit & tries to get back into the station – without exploding due to exposure to the vacuum (a scientific fact).As far as acting goes, Lambert does his naughty schoolboy impression while Patrick Malahide tries to play the prison warden role by being campy – not a good thing. John Flock (the film's producer & co-scribe) makes a cameo as a psychotic Russian prisoner.

Paul Andrews Fortress 2 starts as escaped convict & terrorist John Henry Brennick (Christopher Lambert) is recaptured by the Men-Tel corporation & sent right back to prison. Brennick is at first confident that he can escape again but isn't so sure when he realises he is incarcerated in a prison floating in outer space. To add to his problems are a bunch of nasty Russian gangsters, Sato (Yuji Okumoto) one of the sadistic prison guard's & the prison Govenor Petet Teller (Patrick Malahide) who lost his original high powered job when Brennick escaped from the Fortress seven years earlier & he wants revenge. However Brennick is determined to overcome these obstacles, escape & once again see his wife & son...Also known under the title Fortress 2: Re-Entry this Americam Luxembourg co-production was directed by Geoff Murphy & was the sequel to the surprise sci-fi action thriller success Fortress (1993) with Christopher Lambert which did quite well on video & was a pretty good film too, unfortunately Fortress 2 isn't a good film & I have no hesitation in describing it as total crap. The whole gimmick of Fortress2 being set in outer space doesn't add up to much & the scientific physics don't really convince, for instance space shuttles dock within what seems like seconds & a totally ridiculous scene in which Lambert is blasted into outer space without a spacesuit or anything & manages to 'swim' his way across to another door & survive by simply holding his breath! There'a also an unintentionally hilarious part when they fix a security camera to a Cockroach & the Govenor steps on it & Lambert goes up to the inmate who was keeping the Cockroach as a pet, puts his arm around his shoulder & ruefully says in all seriousness 'it was for a good cause'. The pace is alright & the film moves along but the story is pretty much the same as the original with Lambert trying to escape from a seemingly inescapable prison that has a slightly demented Govenor, a female computer & some sadistic prison guard's. Been there, seen it all before & brought the T-shirt.The special effects are a mixed bag, some of the CGI computer effects are alright while others are awful. The sets look cheap & the film has an ugly look about it. The action scenes are very flat & unimpressive, they have no pace or excitement & apart from one or two half decent punch ups Fortress just doesn't deliver on the action from & since the sci-fi aspect looks so cheap & have no regard to accuracy that the whole film just doesn't work or satisfy.With a supposed budget of about $12,000,000 I can't really see where the money went if that figure is true, filmed in Luxembourg the production values look cheap. The acting isn't anything to write home about, Lambert looks like he is just going through the motions, Patrick Malahide is awful as the main villain while veteran actress Pam Grier looks embarrassed to be here which is understandable.Fortress 2 is a terrible sequel to a pretty decent sci-fi action thriller that didn't deserve a sequel as bad as this but got one anyway, what can I say this poor both conceptually & technically.

Pau Rodriguez I have vague memories of Christopher Lambert acting good.... I know he could do it..... With every new film from him, this memory becomes more and more diffuse.... I remember I saw Highlander and I was so impressed, then I saw Knight moves and I thought, this guy is great so I rented 3 more film of him, Druids, Adrenaline and Fortress 2.... I remember that evening as one of the most terrific experiences of my life, at the beginning I thought, OK, this film is so bad, but OK one actor can make also sometimes a bad film, so I saw the second one, then my fears began to grow, it was the worst movie ever !!! I couldn't recognize Christopher Lambert, acting was so bad and script so terrible that I almost started to cry, and then....... I put FORTRESS 2 !!!!!! I am still recovering of seeing this film, I know i will have some irreversible sequels on my brain, I lost all my respect of C.Lambert for the rest of my life, also I couldn't try to rent another movie, i was so terrified I could get another crap like Fortress 2.Really it was one of the worst movies ever, no screenplay, no acting, crap special effects, crap editing, it was so awful that i will keep paying my psychiatrist for many years until i will be prepared again to see another movie of him.

jrfranklin01 Okay, so the first wasn't anything to boast about. Ergo, the sequel is likely to be only as good as the original, at best. Most sequels just turn out to be a flop or pale in comparison to the first. Fortress 2 is no exception.Years later, Brennick and his family are being hunted down by the same Men-tel Corporation that build the first Fortress. Lambert returns again as Brennick, although he is starting to show his age. Pam Grier makes a surprising appearance as one of the Men-tel corporate big wigs. Brennick is captured and sent to a new fortress in space. There is a new ZED as the HAL9000 spin off from the first Fortress. Not as much detail (costumes, SFX, etc.)are given to this sequel compared to the first. The coed nature of the prison is a bit surprising as women shower next to men. So much for privacy and heaven help you (man or woman) if you drop the soap! Liz May Brice (Resident Evil, AVP) plays Elena Rivera and gives quite a memorable performance with her shower scene.Plot holes soon develop when Brennick and his cohorts hack into the video surveillance system. Then the film gets a bit cheesy when a retarded man gains access to ZED and recorded shower scenes fool the porn-hungry prison guards. The special effects are appropriate with such a low-budget film and the laws of gravity are stretched to extreme. All you can honestly ask after watching this is, "What did you expect?" 2/10