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the truck, overriding its internal controls. The truck suddenly comes to life and runs Gomez down, killing him. Brennick shoots the truck with the Strike Clone machine gun until it seems to jam. He then sets it on fire with the flamethrower attachment. The truck crashes into the barn, exploding. Brennick climbs into the burning ruins to find his wife sitting against an old tractor, clutching her newborn baby.
454:. Inmates are implanted with "intestinators" which induce severe pain or death for physical control and mental conditioning. Prison Director Poe oversees the Zed-10 computer that monitors daily activities. The prison is underground in the desert, within a pit that can only be crossed by a retractable bridge. The overcrowded cells are secured by laser walls.
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During a work shift, John's group puts their intestinators in an air-duct and stage a brawl, causing Zed to trigger the devices and blow the duct open to prepare their escape. Poe promptly flushes the duct with steam and sends in "Strike Clones": networked cyborgs armed with flamethrowers and machine
729:
Nathan
Shumate of Cold Fusion Video Reviews said: "It's a good little film, kept very interesting by a multitude of plot twists. The beauty of this movie is that it's not terribly ambitious; Gordon knew that it was not meant to be this generation's defining science fiction film, and so instead had
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has been edited from some versions of the film. After reaching Mexico, Brennick, his wife, and Gomez end up at a barn where she starts going into labor. Gomez goes out to the truck to get a blanket for the soon-to-arrive baby. The
Fortress computer, Zed-10, manages to establish a remote linkup with
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Poe, infatuated with Karen, tells her that if she lives with him, he will release John from the mind-wipe chamber. She accepts. Poe is revealed to be a cyborg. Four months later, a heavily pregnant Karen uses her access to the prison computer in Poe's quarters to restore John from his mind-wiped
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Hijacking a gun turret to use as an elevator, John's group travels to Zed's control room. John takes Poe hostage and orders him to release Karen. Poe gives the order but Zed refuses, stating that Men-Tel does not negotiate during hostage situations. A gun turret kills Poe, leaving John's group
646:. Columbia TriStar also released the film on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD in some other territories in 1993–2004, while Sony Pictures Home Entertainment re-released the DVDs from 2006–2017. The film also released on DVDs with Full Uncut Editions in UK and Germany. The film was released on
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fun with it. The characters are colorful and engaging, and the actors are b-movie all-stars; the story moves along at a fair clip; and the prison itself is a novel setting, with plenty of inconsistencies in future technology but none that sit up and insist that you notice them".
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Zed and activates a feedback virus, triggering a complete system crash causing all automated security to fail, allowing the prisoners to escape. John and Gomez rescue Karen, hijack a truck, and escape to Mexico where Karen enters labour and gives birth to their child, while an
461:; D-Day, a machine and demolitions expert; young offender Nino Gomez; and Stiggs, who tries to extort John. John learns that Karen is being held in an upper level with their unborn child, who is now officially owned by Men-Tel and will be incinerated at birth.
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Brennick is caught, believing Karen to have escaped, and sentenced to thirty-one years at the
Fortress, a maximum security prison run by the Men-Tel Corporation. The prisoners are used as slave labor to further expand the Fortress as part of the
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to have a second child. A strict one-child policy forbids a second pregnancy, even after the loss of the firstborn, so Karen wears a magnetic vest to conceal her pregnancy from security scanners. A guard notices the vest and raises the alarm.
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has an impressive visual style, the set design is excellent, and the action scenes are well-paced, hampered by a poorly-constructed story line never gets on track. Instead of entering the rarefied atmosphere inhabited by such films as
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where prisons became less focused on rehabilitation and more on punishment. Gordon took visual inspiration for the look of the prison, wanting to keep the film within the realm of possibility despite its sci-fi setting, from
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Stiggs' friend Maddox instigates a brawl with John; Maddox is shot by a security turret and falls to his death. John grabs Maddox's intestinator and gives it to D-Day before he is taken for a mind-wipe as punishment.
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grossed A$ 2,855,154 at the box office in
Australia. Internationally it grossed a total of US$ 40 million, turning into a profitable movie for having been shot with a budget of $ 12,000,000.
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state. She steals a holographic map and gives it to
Abraham to pass on to John. D-Day dismantles Maddox's intestinator and uses a component to remove the others' intestinators.
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is a lot better at setting up its premise than in developing a story around it, for all its faults, has an unusually energetic imagination. At its best, it blends
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being cast in the role. Lambert often insisted on doing his own stunts which became a point of mild disagreement between Gordon and
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which Gordon described as having a "Hellish" atmosphere. While the script was written in mind with someone more physically imposing like
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In 2017, the United States is a military dictatorship. Ex-army officer John Henry
Brennick and his wife Karen attempt to cross the
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guns. Stiggs is shot dead, but the rest of the group seize a Strike Clone and use its weaponry to destroy the remaining Clones.
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Zed alerts Poe to Karen's actions. He reveals to her that her child, like all Men-Tel-owned babies, will be extracted by
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John is imprisoned with inmates
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and released in Spain on 9 December 2015 by Resen. In July 2017, Nameless Media (under the label of
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The film was a financial success, but critical reviews were mixed.
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as
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in 1994 by Live Home Video, and re-released along with the
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The film holds a 38% 'Rotten' score on review aggregator
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into something scary, original and grimly amusing".
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51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
928:(1992) on Blu-ray, Spain release 9 December 2015"
593:particularly the shift it experienced during the
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565:John Pierce as Moustached Prisoner (uncredited)
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480:and made a cyborg. Poe strangles Abraham.
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989:"Fortress (1993) - Financial Information"
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829:"Miramax Films goes wide with 'Fortress'"
650:for the first time on 27 January 2013 by
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
1458:Films shot on the Gold Coast, Queensland
1493:English-language action adventure films
1398:Australian science fiction action films
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1383:American science fiction action films
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753:, it falls in line with the likes of
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793:List of films featuring surveillance
49:adding citations to reliable sources
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827:Frook, John Evan (27 August 1993).
405:), and his wife Karen B. Brennick (
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1483:English-language independent films
1373:1990s science fiction action films
898:(1992) on Blu-ray 27 January 2013"
267:(North America and Japan; through
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1388:Australian action adventure films
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866:Scapperotti, Dan (August 1993).
589:spoke of wanting to address the
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1418:Films directed by Stuart Gordon
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297: (Fantasy Film Festival)
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1067:, Cold Fusion Video Reviews
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544:as "D-Day", a computer geek
538:as Abraham, a prison trusty
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383:science fiction action film
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583:Warner Bros. Movie World
579:Village Roadshow Studios
484:without leverage. D-Day
391:Warner Bros. Movie World
289:9 October 1992
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1428:Films set in the future
666:The original ending of
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1433:Overpopulation fiction
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783:was released in 2000.
523:as Prison Director Poe
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1378:1990s dystopian films
1082:Preview.reelviews.net
644:Artisan Entertainment
608:Arnold Schwarzenegger
1463:1990s American films
1242:Daughter of Darkness
798:List of prison films
781:Fortress 2: Re-Entry
775:Fortress 2: Re-Entry
736:of ReelViews said: "
527:Clifton Collins, Jr.
437:to the Free City of
422:Fortress 2: Re-Entry
45:improve this article
1226:Kid Safe: The Video
969:on 18 February 2011
717:The Handmaid's Tale
612:Christopher Lambert
503:Christopher Lambert
403:Christopher Lambert
189:Christopher Lambert
1368:1990s prison films
1188:Films directed by
1078:"Review: Fortress"
1063:9 May 2008 at the
1048:, 4 September 1993
1045:The New York Times
1042:, Stephen Holden,
734:James Berardinelli
701:The New York Times
675:Box office results
662:Alternative ending
536:Lincoln Kilpatrick
204:Lincoln Kilpatrick
1423:Films set in 2017
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904:. 5 February 2013
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1338:" (TV, 2008)
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1323:" (TV, 2007)
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840:27 September
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665:
627:
626:
574:
573:
548:Vernon Wells
507:black berets
482:
475:
471:
467:
463:
456:
448:
432:
420:
418:
415:
389:and shot at
385:directed by
377:
376:
375:
370:$ 48 million
362:$ 15 million
328:Running time
226:Tim Wellburn
107:
98:
88:
81:
74:
67:
55:
43:Please help
38:verification
35:
18:
1210:From Beyond
1202:Re-Animator
1087:9 September
998:9 September
973:9 September
932:Blu-ray.com
902:Blu-ray.com
642:in 1999 by
319: (U.S.)
276:(Australia)
217:David Eggby
170:Produced by
143:Directed by
1358:1992 films
1352:Categories
1014:"Fortress"
937:8 December
908:8 December
878:29 January
868:"Fortress"
814:References
750:Terminator
623:Home media
570:Production
554:Tom Towles
486:hacks into
419:A sequel,
395:Queensland
381:is a 1992
367:Box office
332:91 minutes
315:1993-09-03
304:1993-01-21
293:1992-10-09
242:Production
177:John Flock
174:John Davis
153:Written by
71:newspapers
1234:Robot Jox
686:Reception
636:Laserdisc
585:Director
439:Vancouver
399:Australia
341:Australia
337:Countries
265:Dimension
244:companies
223:Edited by
1258:Fortress
1151:Fortress
1145:AllMovie
1140:Fortress
1129:Fortress
1118:Fortress
1107:Fortress
1061:Archived
926:Fortress
896:Fortress
787:See also
756:Freejack
738:Fortress
706:Fortress
680:Fortress
668:Fortress
628:Fortress
575:Fortress
491:INTERPOL
378:Fortress
351:Language
231:Music by
182:Starring
126:Fortress
834:Variety
762:Alien 3
711:RoboCop
648:Blu-ray
618:Release
354:English
313: (
302: (
291: (
85:scholar
1331:(2007)
1316:(2005)
1313:Edmond
1301:(2003)
1293:(2001)
1285:(1998)
1277:(1996)
1269:(1995)
1261:(1992)
1253:(1991)
1245:(1990)
1237:(1990)
1229:(1988)
1221:(1987)
1213:(1986)
1205:(1985)
1025:4 June
769:Sequel
744:Aliens
720:, and
459:parole
359:Budget
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
1336:Eater
1328:Stuck
1290:Dagon
1218:Dolls
967:(PDF)
956:(PDF)
92:JSTOR
78:books
1112:IMDb
1089:2017
1027:2024
1000:2017
975:2017
939:2020
910:2020
880:2024
842:2020
759:and
656:SPHE
634:and
597:and
581:and
497:Cast
429:Plot
64:news
1143:at
1132:at
1121:at
1110:at
765:".
698:of
640:DVD
632:VHS
393:in
47:by
1354::
1080:.
1016:.
991:.
958:.
930:.
900:.
870:.
850:^
831:.
714:,
413:.
397:,
1334:"
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1304:"
1181:e
1174:t
1167:v
1091:.
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108:(
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99:(
89:·
82:·
75:·
68:·
41:.
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