fortress

i've seen this one probably a dozen times over the years.  it was a popular favorite among my friends in high school.  i will first of all admit, this movie isn't very good, but that's what makes it even better!  as a fan of the original 'highlander', i have a very soft spot in my heart for christopher lambert- i just love his bad acting and fantastic voice!  this movie though, is not as iconic as highlander for a reason...
the story is set in the future where, due to over population, no one is able to have more than one child.  lambert and his wife had a child who passed away and are caught crossing the border.  she's pregnant with another child, so both of them are arrested and thrown into a high security prison called 'the fortress'.  its a jail in the middle of the desert that basically looks like a giant hole.  lambert is forced into slave labor, mining deep underneath the desert.  his wife, on the other hand, is being kept in the same prison, awaiting the birth of her child, which will be taken by the prison to do with as they see fit.  in order to escape, she cozies up to the warden while he hatches a plan to bring the whole place down.  one of the best parts of the movie is the set.  the fortress itself looks pretty good, especially for 1992!  its fairly predictable in its story line, but is actually quite fun to watch.  the plotting and planning between the prisoners, as well at the revelations about the warden make the film interesting and worthy of the minor praises it sometimes receives.