Signature Entertainment present Fortress on Digital Platforms 28th March and DVD 11th April.
Synopsis
Robert (Willis), an ex-CIA agent, lives in a hidden woodland resort that serves as a retirement community for former spies. His estranged son Paul (Metcalfe) is a crypto currency entrepreneur who has run into trouble and needs to ask his old man for help. Unfortunately Paul’s plans aren’t as secret as his father’s location.
Review
Now you may be aware from my previous film reviews I am a fan of Bruce Willis and will pretty much watch anything with his name attached, there does seem to have been a steady stream of straight to disc/digital films come out in recent times with Bruce Willis at the helm some not as good as others, once I saw the trailer for Fortress I had a sneaking feeling that this would be one of his films I just needed to see.
The film starts off with a pretty slow pace as ex cia agent Robert’s estranged son Paul drops him visit to ask for financial help to dig him out of trouble. It all seems quite serene and calm in the retirement village but you do get that feeling that something just isn’t quite right. The film is expertly written in a way that builds the anticipation from the beginning, so when the inevitable happens and the bad guys turn up it runs with the story instead of just happening because it’s an action film.
As the film progresses and the facade of the retirement home begins to unfold the film comes into it’s own and stands firm as a full on action film with no one particular stand out performance, for me the main cast work well together producing a feature that is not only action packed but also heartfelt in parts. I can’t say too much about the film as alot of it would be spoilers as the story has many twists and turns.
The main quote of the film is one that I will take away with me “They say live could be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward”.
This is the first time I’ve come across James Cullen Bressack as a director and I must say I was impressed, he utilised Willis well using him not as just a token in the cast to put bums on seats but used as an integral part of the story working to his action strengths. For me there wasn’t one stand out performance from the cast, some parts were slightly cheesy and predictable but on the whole on screen the cast worked well together as a team to create an overall good visual experience.
Verdict
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A good all round film, one of Bruce Willis’s better films of recent times. I enjoyed the film from start to finish the on screen chemistry within the main characters really worked well and made the film flow well, would definitely recommend to any action fan.
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