"Fortress of War movie review" Topic

Fortress of War is a Russian movie about the battle for the Brest fortress in 1941 during the first days of operation Barbarossa. Having seen a fair share of good looking but nonetheless bad Russian historical movies recently I was skeptical but the movie came highly recommended on many sites.

I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't suck, for the most parts at least. Fortress of War is a very competent war movie telling the tale of the Soviet defenders through the point of view of a couple of key characters such as a boy from the army orchestra, a KGB officer and a border protection officer. It takes a while before the action kicks off, but you get a pretty well paced action packed movie for about 3/5 of the 138 minute running time.

The effects and CGI are very good, although there are some unrealistic sequences with bombers dropping bombs at a extremely low altitude just because "it looks cool". The soldiers look the part, the sound effects are great and the whole Brest fortress has been rebuilt in such detail that the set really looks like the real deal and it's great to see the increasing amount of destruction caused by the constant battle.

It does however sweep a lot of historical background and facts under the rug.

Check my blog for the full review:
link

Thanks for the review.

I like my Russian war movies to be utterly bleak and distressing.

I like my Russian war movies to be utterly bleak and distressing.

As my Father used to say: "It's a Russian comedy, everybody dies."

Good review and excellent points about the lack of historical perspective in the film.

I also enjoyed the movie and the action sequences were quite good, but one or two made me laugh out loud. The funniest had to be the NKVD Border Guards suddenly charging the Germans though most of them are armed only with boards, etc. I watched it thinking, "Why don't the Germans just shoot them?" There was one other silly counter-attack where the Russians are holding a position, and suddenly jump up and bayonet charge while the Germans passively engage them in hand-to-hand combat. I guess it must take too long to reload their muzzle-loading MG-34's ;).

Not bad, definitely better than the S. Korean 'My Way.' It sacrificed some realism for cinematic convenience and gave in to some sappiness, but overall not bad at all. The storytelling from the perspective of the bugle boy is interesting.

Looks good. Where did you get your copy from?

It's on youtube with English subtitles.

YouTube link

You can buy it on Amazon.

Thanks for the youtube info.