Film Review - Fortress: Sniper’s Eye (2022)

There are some sequels which an audience could comfortably go into without any prior knowledge of the previous instalments and follow along quite happily. In the case of Fortress: Sniper’s Eye, the film definitely benefits from familiarity with first film Fortress, which was released last year and was filmed back to back in Puerto Rico with second instalment Fortress: Sniper’s Eye.

Kicking off straight from the events of Fortress, Fortress: Sniper’s Eye sees father and son duo Robert and Paul Michaels return to save the day yet again. As Robert sets out to save the widow of his old nemesis Balzary, Paul finds himself forced to defend their secret base the Fortress as an unexpected attack breaks out from a familiar foe.

Fortress: Sniper’s Eye is billed as an action thriller but sadly it doesn’t succeed in either of these genres. The action sequences are underwhelming, and the choreography of the fight scenes is overly obvious, which doesn’t help to immerse the audience in the story or give the events playing out much credibility. Most of the plot points are easily guessed which means the thrills and tension are negligible and it is a case of waiting for things to happen rather than wondering what might happen.

Whilst the performances are solid enough, no one is doing their best work here and Bruce Willis fans might be disappointed to discover that he has rather limited screen time in this. Jesse Metcalfe is probably the standout and Chad Michael Murray’s villainous turn is rather fun if not particularly believable. However, in all fairness to the actors, the material they are working with is not the strongest and the dialogue is often very on the nose and overly cheesy.

Fortress: Sniper’s Eye is unlikely to appeal to new audiences, however for audiences that enjoyed the first film then this sequel might just hit the spot. A third instalment of the Fortress series has already been confirmed and so audiences have not seen the last of the Michaels yet.

In spite of any misgivings about Fortress: Sniper’s Eye, the film does have some poignancy in that it is the last film franchise to star Willis after he announced his retirement from acting due to his aphasia diagnosis. Though Willis may only have a small role in which his physical limitations are clear, it is still great to see him onscreen. Perhaps Fortress: Sniper’s Eye is worth seeing just for that.