Fortress

2012 "Battles were fought on the ground, wars were won in the sky."
5| 1h29m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 01 April 2012 Released
Producted By: Bayou Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

When the commander of the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber is killed in action in a raid over Sicily in 1943, his replacement, a young, naive pilot struggles to be accepted by the plane's already tight-knit Irish American crew.

Genre

War

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Fortress (2012) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Mike Phillips

Production Companies

Bayou Pictures

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Fortress Audience Reviews

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Beanbioca As Good As It Gets
Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
JohnAU1965 This is a B-grade production who's producers have gone to lengths to apologise for any inaccuracies, even if it was a very childish, mealy-mouthed apology full of passive-aggressive barbs and vitriol.B grade aside, unknown actors aside, historical inaccuracy aside, even fairly woeful CGI aside, this movie is simply amateurish nonsense.Forget the tiny details of historical accuracy that could have elevated the film, how about just some basic continuity? Towards the end, our plucky ball gunner mentions (and we see) the left hand main undercarriage leg of the Lucky Lady sail towards the earth, completely disconnected from the aircraft. Moments later, another belly shot shows both undercarriage legs firmly ensconced in their respective bays. Not only did the leg fall in oblivion, the cycling of the landing gear apparently didn't occur in the first instance.As for the CGI, I've seen computer games with more thought put into their production.The actors deserve some praise for their various (if predictable) character roles, but beyond that, the producers and their petty whining about the critiques suffered, the directors and their apparent lack of desire for continuity (or even period dialogue) and the CGI 'artists' for their high-school attempts deserve little, if anything.The producers bemoaned the lack of support from organisations with actual B-17s. Perhaps these groups took one look at this motley assortment and thought 'hell, no!'.To those who attempted to compare this with Memphis Belle... really? Have you actually watched either film? I'm going with 'no'.This is just a sad little millennial's's attempt at what they think B- 17 operations must have been like. They've made precious little effort to actually find out much of any reality and for this, they should be ashamed, as the period in question is one rarely covered and deserved so much more.In closing, I'd suggest the producers put their whiny apology as a preface to their next project, because I know full well that, if I had read it prior to watching this, I would have avoided this movie like the plague.
Richard (richreed-1) The basic plot - the newbie second lieutenant trying to fit in to a tight-knit military group - has been done many many times, but this one gets it right. Hollywood usually uses a single climactic event to earn the respect of the men, but in this movie it is done the way it is in real life: hard work, brains, patience and a willingness to take care of your men, no matter the risk. At times the digital effects make you think you are in a video game, and the B-17's are sometimes depicted as if they were modeled on a kid's toy instead of the real thing, but in the end the viewer is treated to fantastic scenery and action. The attention to detail is to be commended. The uniforms looked like real GI uniforms that are cleaned and maintained in a field environment rather than by a Hollywood costume department. Even the nurses in wake scene looked like they are in the 1940's. The nod to the ground crews, the unsung heroes who worked way past the call of duty to keep the airplanes flying, was appreciated by this ground crew veteran. There are some nits, to be sure, especially noticeable to aircraft enthusiasts, but overall a great movie that deserves respect, and viewing.
alissaweatherford I will always give a positive to any movie that attempts to show the horror, the bravery and the honor of soldiers on all side in any war. This one is unique in that it tells a story of a geographical area that is seldom seen. I don't care about the actors names as they only read the screenplay and follows the directors direction. That being said........This movie was released last year but the CGI has the quality of video games of the early 90's. In other words....dated and cartoonish. As another reviewer wrote "How some people can say the CGI is any good I really don't know. If you look at some of the outdoor scenes where the background has been mocked up it's really funny, look at the extras, you can tell they feel uncomfortable being there staring at the "green wall" in front of them, I'm sure you can even see their shadows against it at some points. Some extras in one scene (a mild party scene) even look at the camera! As for everything else: The planes look crap, the explosions are crap, the tracer fire is crap, the flak looks crap. Some damage on the plane doesn't look too bad in all fairness but is totally unreasonable. Way too much gore to try and drive it all home too, if they'd of made a half decent film in the first place they wouldn't of had to worry about litres of fake, pink blood to try and make up for it." Unfortunately I have to agree and add that, while an important story, the screenplay is sub par as is the direction. It was obviously a lower budget film and lack hardly any wide angle shots. All shots seem to be of small groups or individuals talking face to face with no depth of field or scenery. Looks like it was filmed entirely on a sound stage or in the CGI lab. That doesn't make for realism in a movie set in the expanse of the desert and the sky.While the young actors bring to life just how young these soldiers and airmen were, the "pretty boy" hair styles are completely out of place and time. Also the sparkling clean uniforms, undershirts and faces make the camp look like a frat house instead of a remote, desert air base where temperatures were 120 during the day and 40 degrees at night. And yet, nobody sweats! Or there is some gratuitous arm pit wetness occasionally seen but the pits are wet but the faces are dry.Again an entirely poor effort to tell what could have been an interesting story. Too bad! To bad as
shatterd_moon2 I stumbled across this film purely by accident while looking for another movie. I couldn't find the one I had planned on so I picked this up just for kicks, expecting an interesting, if questionable low budget film. I could not have been more mistaken.What I found was a well put together movie, done on a mere $3.200.000 budget. Now, I will be the first to admit that there were imperfections across the board (overly clean aircraft, slight imperfections in the CGI, and wardrobe errors, etc.). However they were minor, and after being absorbed into the plot that was being delivered by unknown yet pretty believable actors. I found that the imperfections were easily overlooked.I only recognized a few of the actors yet the entire troop had good chemistry with both the script and each other. The story was well thought out and delivered with style. The dialog was a drawback for me. I'm not sure the "F" bomb was used so flagrantly in the 40's.But the CGI was the biggest shock of all, I can't believe that on such a small budget, they were able to do such excellent CGI work. The air combat and dog fights were unbelievably, believable.I would recommend this film to any WWII enthusiast. Even with all its flaws it was still a thoroughly enjoyable film!! 8 out of 10