The review of Fortress – The fortress, a film where Willis plays a retired CIA agent who finds himself facing an old enemy, in a resort surrounded by nature that hides many secrets. On Italia1.
Paul hasn’t seen his father Robert for three years, since the day his mother – ill for some time – lost her life. Relations between the two are not the best, with the parent having retired to a private life in a retirement resort in the middle of a forest, isolated from the rest of the world and under strict surveillance by armed guards. What Paul ignores, when he goes to visit him to ask for a loan, is that in reality that seemingly idyllic place is a refuge for former CIA agents, whose cover has been exposed and are now unable to return to a normal life.
As we tell you in review of Fortress – The fortress, Robert has in fact served for the spy agency in the past and is now enjoying his well-deserved retirement there. A place impossible to locate as it is not subject to the GPS signal and which Paul finds only through the address that his father had left him; Too bad it was followed by a gang of criminals led by the ruthless Frederick Balzary, who has a score to settle with Robert and intends to ravage the area to make a large amount of money.
No way
In recent times we have often talked to you about films that are part of the recent filmography of Bruce Willisa long list of titles in which the popular die harder he appeared in more or less substantial guest-star roles, already weakened by that aphasia which then led him to retire from the scenes. Now it’s this one’s turn Fortress – The fortress, which is perhaps among the worst productions shot by us in this latest, dramatic career arc. A action movie improbabile and at times almost amateurish in the rudimentary staging, so much so that on more than one occasion it seems like we are watching a live soft air event, in which two teams of challengers face each other in an open field surrounded by nature. It is precisely the low budget that must be at the source of a script that goes beyond the limits of the absurd, with the creation of this resort for retired special agents who seek oblivion in order to preserve their safety.
Acts of Violence, the review: Bruce Willis in an uncompromising action
Teams on the field
Too bad the fortress of the title, this sort of hyper-technological bunker which is located underground and which is supposed to protect those inside from threats of all kinds, turns out in reality to be a fallacious and easily attackable structure, complete with security guards made expendable by questionable narrative choices to say the least when not absurd, in order to prepare the definitive showdown between the protagonists and the devious villain. Villain who is played by Chad Michael Murraypleasantly over the top and the only partially positive note of an otherwise embarrassing cast, starting with the presence of the anonymous Jesse Metcalfe in the role of the prodigal son ready to follow in his father’s footsteps. The dialogues reduced to a minimum – remember that Willis had problems reciting lines that were too long – do nothing but further superficialize a derivative and botched plot, written by the actor Emile Hirschalso author of the…sequel!
Once again
Well yes, against all logic and predictions, it was indeed achieved a direct sequel a few months laterwhich sees the return of the three main characters: let’s talk about Fortress: Sniper’s Eye (2022), which has the task of resolving the issues left unresolved here. But the vision of this original is already enough and more, complete with revived guest stars – we also find the Shannon Doherty Of Beverly Hills 90210 in the role of an army general – and special effects at an all-time low; director James Cullen Bressack he also attempts a short action sequence shot, but stops as soon as he understands the static nature of the assumption and the uselessness of what was happening on stage. And on the other hand, the desire to say enough coincides with that of the public, who are unlikely to be willing enough to reach the end credits.
Conclusions
In the first image we see Bruce Willis wearing an unlikely cowboy hat and from there we understand how Fortress fits into that thick line of mediocre and low-budget productions that characterized the last part of the popular actor’s career, before withdrawal due to obvious health problems. A film that pays off with a script that often tends towards the absurd, both for the basic heart of the narrative and for the motivations that drive various characters, including unexpected betrayals and unfinished showdowns, with a series of dialogues that are anachronistic if not demented. An hour and a half of almost amateurish viewing, which drags by inertia towards that epilogue open to the sequel then made, with a notable contempt for the ridiculous.
Because we like it
- For Bruce Willis fans, one of the last chances to see him on the screen again, even if it hurts in such conditions…
What’s wrong
- Improbable script.
- Amateur direction also due to a budget at historic lows.
- Cast outside the box, excluding a tasty Chad Michael Murray in the role of the villain.
The post first appeared on movieplayer.it