It was announced earlier this year that Bruce Willis was retiring from film-making because his aphasia was making it increasingly difficult for him to perform. However, he seems to be having a bit of a farewell tour as the last few films he worked on trickle out. Perhaps in the light of this , critics should be a bit kinder, cutting both Willis and the films themselves a bit of slack. But this one is just as rubbish and pointless as all the other ropey action movies he has made in the past few years. Fortress: Sniper's Eye picks up in Russia two weeks after the end of the first film. A couple of goons are torturing Sasha (Natali Yura, Dead Trigger, Antidote) and filming it to send to her husband. Or at least they are until Robert (Bruce Willis, Death Wish, Breach) walks in and beats the crap out of both of them. Then we cut to two weeks after that and Sasha waking up from a nightmare back at the Fortress. Sasha, for those who didn't see the first film, was married to Balzary (Chad Michael Murray, Camp Cold Brook, House of Wax) who everyone thinks Robert killed in the first film. And we get a flashback to establish that. But if you saw Fortress you know otherwise. And soon so will everybody else. Much of the first act of Fortress: Sniper's Eye is spent recapping the events of the first film which means a lot of talk after the opening scenes. But by now I don't think that surprises anyone. Writer Alan Horsnail, who also wrote the first film, tries to keep all the introductions and expositions from feeling too forced, but there's so much of it that isn't quite possible. Given what we've recently learned about Willis' health I won't say anything about his performance in Fortress: Sniper's Eye beyond noting he's not in it much and is lying down in many of his scenes. Paul gets most of the screen time, but Zoe, Sasha and Ken (Michael Sirow, Primal, Jack Goes Home) get most of the action scenes. Fortress: Sniper's Eye is a major step down in script and execution from the first film. And if the title had you expecting a tense sniper's duel or a scene where our heroes are pinned down by one forget it, we don't even get that much excitement from this film.
Review of Fortress: Sniper's Eye
