Conner McLeod: Christopher Lambert
Ramirez: Sean Connery
Kurgan:Clancy Brown
Directed by Russell Mulcahy. Written by: Gregory Widen. Released: 1985. My Rating: *****
Plot
The plot involves drifting back and forth between the past and present. Through these flashbacks, we learn that Connor McLeod is over 400 years old, and he cannot die. He is in an everlasting battle against other immortals who wish to be the last one left alive. They can be killed by losing their heads. Each one carries a sword at all times, and occasionally meet and do battle.
Connor was taught in Scotland by a thousand year-old Egyptian named Ramirez. Ramirez lost his head during that time to Kurgan, an evil immortal. 400 years later, Connor faces down Kurgan as the last two. In the end, Connor wins and gets the prize: the knowledge of all men. He is also mortal.
My Comments
This movie is a cult classic. Its dark, gritty, and has kick-ass swordplay. It moves back from the past and present effortlessly, and the story is so awesome.
Originally, my intro to the Highlander universe was the sequel, Highlander II: The Quickening. It was actually a bad movie, but it led me to see this original. Having Sean Connery in it improved things vastly, and made it more than it should have been. Its a cult classic, and it has a huge following world wide. And, with that pressure, sequels and spinoffs are inevitable.
Highlander II: The Quickening
Cast
Connor Mcleod: Christopher Lambert
Ramirez: Sean Connery
Louise Marcus: Virginia Madsen
Katana: Micheal Ironside
Blake: John C. McGinley
Allan Rich: Allan Neyman
Released: 1990. Story by: Brian Clemens & William Panzer. Screenplay by: Peter Bellwood. Directed by Russell Mulcahy. My Rating: **.
Plot
Taking a complete departure from the first movie, this one is complete sci-fi 'epic'. Now in the year 2024, Connor McLeod is an old man, living his days like everyone else, under an ozone shield that blocks the sun. Funny story, he and another man, Allan Rich, put up the shield to stop the ozone from depleting. Its been about 25 years, and everyone is pretty miserable.
Fair enough. Then, out of nowhere, we learn that McLeod is from the planet Zeist, I think. Depending on the version of the film, a General Katana comes from this other planet to kill McLeod once and for all. In the 'restored' versions, he's a time traveller, out to get McLeod. Anyway, after Connor kills two other immortals, he regains that essence that he lost in the first, and is young again.
He meets a lovely young freedom fighter, and they decide that maybe the shield is bad. So, they decide to take it down, and they also learn that Katana has taken over the corporation that runs the evil shield. And, even though Ramirez has been dead for centuries, Connor is somehow able to ressurect him for help. Huh. Ain't that something.
In the end, the trio storm the shield generator, but Ramirez is killed to save the Highlander. They take down Katana, the shield, and live happily ever after.
My Thoughts
The first time I saw this, it was the theatrical release, which, by all accounts, was ridiculously messed up behind the scenes. Mulcahy didn't want anything to do with the release, and in 1997, he released a 'Renegade' version with the references to the planet Zeist gone. It changed the overall outlook slightly, but not quite enough. It stayed with the storyline of the first, but only to a degree. It was like they were pissed that Widen's movie had painted them into a corner, and they had to write their way out of it.
For a young, impressionable sci-fi fan, the movie was great, but compared with the rest, its actually quite bad. And confusing. It all looked like an attempt to get money, and they pissed on Widen's vision a little.
Highlander III: The Final Dimension
Cast
Connor McLeod: Christopher Lambert
Kane: Mario Van Peebles
Alex/ Sarah: Deborah Kara Unger
Nakano: Mako
Released: 1995. Story by: William Panzer & Brad Mirman. Screenplay by: Paul Ohl. Directed by: Andy Morahan. My Rating: ***
Plot
In another great confusing plot, we find ourselves in contemporary times. McLeod, thinking he was done with killing other immortals, has adopted a son, and is living in seclusion. What he doesn't know, is that a team of scientists in Japan have unearthed three immortals. One is Kane, a powerful sorcerer and someone that McLeod has met.
Way back when, Connor was training with a Japanese mystic named Nakano. Kane, whose powers grew as he killed others, wanted Nakano's gifts. Connor had just left the cave of the mystic when all hell broke loose and Nakano buried himslef and Kane. Well, needless to say, Kane is pissed.
Connor first dispatches Kane's two henchmen, and then after his son is taken, he meets Kane head on. In the end, Connor wins, once again believing he is the last.
My Thoughts
Well, this one could easily be the second installment rather than the third. It moves like any run-of-the-mill action movies, but in terms of Highlander, the story is closer to the timeline we see emerging in the TV series. That Connor is not the last, and there are actually a lot of immortals still running around. Peebles is effective as the nemesis, still running in that Kurgan/Katana vien. Big, nasty, and mostly silent. And some of the visual effects are pretty neat. I thought it was an enjoyable outing, best enjoyed for what it is. A standard action flick with extraordinary circumstances.
Highlander: Endgame
Cast:
Connor McLeod: Christopher Lambert
Duncan McLeod: Adrian Paul
Jacob Kell: Bruce Payne
Kate/Faith: Lisa Barbuscia
Methos: Peter Wingfield
Dawson: Jim Byrnes
Released: 2000. Story by: Eric Bernt & Gillian Horvath & William Panzer. Screenplay by: Joel Soisson. Directed by: Douglas Aarionkoski. My Rating: ****.
Plot
In a direct tie-in with the Highlander TV series, we see Duncan and Connor, cousins and Highlanders, in battle together. The story starts with Connor 'dissapearing' and we find that he has tired of the game, and is in seclusion, living, but not being alive. Then, a blast from Connor's past comes back. Jacob kell has sworn revenge on Connor and his family. Duncan finds Connor, but Connor doesn't believe that they defeat him seperatly.
Complicating things is Kell's right hand, a woman named Faith, who was Duncan's wife way back when. She is also immortal, and Duncan awakened her to that fact, ruining the honeymoon. She's pissed at Duncan, but Kell kills her, so it becomes a moot point. In the end, Connor forces Duncan to kill him so that their combined powers can defeat Kell. And, they do.
My Thoughts
The mechanics of the movie were outstanding, and since I became a fan of the TV show, it was nice to see Paul get his due. But, this movie creates more temporal conflict than any of them. If Connor dies in 2000, and the energy sheild never goes up, then does Highlander II ever take place? The whole controversy over the film has been negated by William Panzer and Peter Davis, the people who own the rights to Widen's characters. Just the fact that the events in this film happen, the bad sequel cannot happen.
I really am a big fan of the Highlander idea and the movies, and the TV, but sometimes it gives me a headache. They write themsleves into corners, but can seemingly write themsleves out with no consequences. Whatever. Once again, if you take this film like a standard action film, its damn good. But, as a series, they all kind of lag and make very little sense. Such is life.
