You’ve probably seen the thumbnail on a random streaming app late at night. Bruce Willis, looking slightly dazed, holding a gun against a backdrop of generic explosion orange. It’s a sight we’ve become used to over the last few years. But specifically, when people talk about the "last" chapter in this saga, they're usually looking for Fortress: Sniper's Eye.
Honestly, it’s a weird one.
Released in 2022, this is the sequel to the 2021 film Fortress. It was shot back-to-back in Puerto Rico during a time when the world was just starting to learn about Bruce Willis’s health struggles. Because of that, the movie isn't just a low-budget action flick. It's basically a time capsule of a legend saying goodbye in the only way the industry would let him.
What the Last Fortress Movie is Actually About
The plot is... well, it's a lot. Basically, it picks up right after the first movie. Robert (played by Willis) is a retired CIA agent living in a "fortress"—which is really just a high-tech retirement home for spies. His son, Paul (Jesse Metcalfe), is still hanging around trying to figure out his dad.
Then things go sideways.
The villain from the first movie, Balzary—played with incredible "I'm having way more fun than anyone else" energy by Chad Michael Murray—is somehow alive. He shows up again. This time, he’s after money and revenge, which is pretty standard for these things. But here’s the kicker: the movie introduces Sasha (Natali Yura), who is Balzary's wife but was rescued by Robert.
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It's a soap opera with tactical vests.
What most people get wrong about Fortress: Sniper's Eye is that they expect a high-octane sniper movie because of the title. Spoiler alert: there isn't much sniping. The title is mostly just marketing fluff. Instead, you get a lot of scenes of Bruce Willis in a hospital bed or a chair. This wasn't a creative choice. By this point, Willis was struggling with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
Director Josh Sternfeld had to work around those limitations. It’s why Jesse Metcalfe does most of the running and punching while Willis provides the "strategic" weight from a fixed position.
The Elephant in the Room: The 0% Score
If you look at Rotten Tomatoes, the critics absolutely buried this movie. A big fat 0%.
Jeannette Catsoulis from The New York Times called it "so dumb that no effort by Willis could reasonably be expected to save it." And she’s not entirely wrong. The script by Alan Horsnail has some pretty glaring plot holes. For instance, the high-tech defenses of the "Fortress" seem to fail every time someone sneezes too hard.
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But audiences weren't quite as mean. On some platforms, the audience score sits closer to 50%. Why? Because if you’re a fan of "Geezer Teasers"—those late-career B-movies—it hits a specific spot. It’s comfort food. Bad, salty, slightly expired comfort food.
Why This Movie Still Matters to Fans
People keep searching for the last Fortress movie because they want to understand how a career like Bruce Willis's ends. There's a certain "rubbernecking" quality to it, sure. But there’s also genuine affection.
Watching Fortress: Sniper's Eye knowing what we know now makes it a different experience. You aren't watching a bad performance; you’re watching a guy show up for his crew. Many people on these sets, from the hair and makeup teams to the stunt doubles, had worked with Bruce for decades. Making these movies was a way to keep that "family" paid and supported before he had to step away for good.
Breaking Down the Cast Dynamics
- Bruce Willis (Robert): He’s the anchor. Even when he’s just sitting there, he has that "Willis smirk" that occasionally breaks through the fog.
- Jesse Metcalfe (Paul): He carries the physical load of the film. He’s the bridge between the audience and the weird spy-world logic.
- Chad Michael Murray (Balzary): Seriously, he is the best part of this. He plays the villain with this weird, theatrical intensity that suggests he knew exactly what kind of movie he was in.
The movie cost almost nothing to make and made very little at the box office—only about $69,000 in limited international releases—but it found a massive second life on platforms like Hulu and Amazon.
Is There a Third Fortress Movie?
This is the big question. When the series was first announced, it was touted as a trilogy. They even shot the first two back-to-back.
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However, following the official announcement of Bruce Willis’s retirement in March 2022 and the subsequent diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, the third film was effectively shelved. While there were rumors of a script existing, Fortress: Sniper's Eye remains the final word on the Robert Michaels story.
It ends on a note that feels final enough, even if it wasn't intended to be the ultimate conclusion.
If you’re planning to watch Fortress: Sniper's Eye, adjust your expectations. Don't go in looking for Die Hard. Go in looking for a small-scale, low-budget thriller that features one of the last times we’d ever see Bruce Willis on screen.
What you should do next:
- Watch the first 'Fortress' (2021) first. If you skip it, the sequel makes zero sense. The relationship between the father and son is the only thing that gives the action any stakes.
- Look for the "Making Of" featurettes. On the Blu-ray release, the cast talks about the filming process in Puerto Rico. It gives a lot of context to how they managed the production.
- Check out 'A Day to Die' or 'Gasoline Alley'. If you want to see other films from this specific era of Willis’s career that critics liked slightly more, these are your best bets for a double feature.
The last Fortress movie isn't a masterpiece. It’s a messy, weird, and occasionally heart-wrenching piece of film history that shows just how far a Hollywood legacy can carry a production.