Review of Highlander 4: Endgame

Introduction

For a film that originally flopped at the box office, and was considered a low budget fantasy movie, the original Highlander has enjoyed an unbelievable ascent to the heights of cult legend. Whether this was a fluke of creative film-making, the casting of Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert, or the use of throbbing Queen rock music, I`m sure film students could debate for hours. Highlander has since flaunted its own tagline - "There can be only one" and spawned three sequels and a very successful television franchise (not to mention "Raven" and a full animated series). This was especially surprising when the whole premise of the first film was that the immortals had to battle until one was left, and then he ceased to be immortal...

The film spawned a television series which saw the original Highlander - Connor McCleod (Christopher Lambert) pass the torch to his clansman Duncan (Adrian Paul). Since then, a huge amount of material has been added to the Highlander universe, and it is very difficult to square it all with the original film. The series is taken to have happened in an alternate universe where the happenings of the first film did occur, but many immortals are still around and there is no longer a draw to fight to the last.

Not only is this confusing, but additional films starring Lambert as Connor have been made. The second film followed the timeline of the first (although it did an abominable job), while the third seemed to ignore the existence of the second, and join again to the first... Confused yet ?! If you are at all interested, there are a number of websites which map out these facts with coma-inducing detail.

This film - Highlander: Endgame is the fourth in the series, and seeks to join Duncan and Connor again for a big-screen passing of the torch. It takes on most of the first film, although seems to ignore the conclusion, and also ignores the subsequent movies. Endgame feeds a great deal from the material of the series. Curiously, Endgame never seemed to make it to a cinema release in the UK... This double-disc special edition DVD is our first true opportunity to determine if this is the film that will truly knit the Highlander franchises together, or be the final nail in the immortals coffin.

Video

The quality of this 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer cannot really be faulted - for a film released on the sunny side of the millennium, I should certainly hope so ! The film carries many challenges for the DVD format, with fast action and dark or smoky scenes. These are, however, handled perfectly and there is no sign of artefacts.

Any disappointment with the video quality of this film spring not from the quality of the transfer, but from the quality of the original material. Doug Aarniokoski is a new director, and while I`m not saying I could do any better, the filming and editing of this film is poor. In several scenes I found a lack of focus on the picture distracting. The film also has an annoying tendency to use close up when people are speaking - fine when used once but infuriating when you spend most of the film watching people`s mouths move.

There is also a tendency in this post-Matrix world to feel that fight scenes must be faster, faster, faster. While some of the sword-play in Endgame is fantastic (that`s why a lot of people watch Highlander !) much of the fighting is over-complicated. There is also a tendency to make extremely fast cuts to fight sequences, which makes them visually confusing and difficult to follow.

The visual effects on Endgame are also a disappointment. From the commentaries and extra materials, it would seem that this was probably due to a lack of time, or a lack of budget. It seems like the film was rushed through, and no-where is this more obvious than with the visuals. Shonky blue-screen work is exposed by the clarity of the DVD. In the final battle sequence, there are a couple of morphs when Duncan appears to look like Connor. The villain of the piece freezes when he sees it - I think he was just shocked by how truly shocking the effect was !

Audio

At last ! A Highlander sequel that does not either copy the Queen music of the original, nor try to rip it off. Endgame has an excellent soundtrack, which is crisp and loud. Music accompanies the picture well, and vocals are locked to the centre channel at all times. Atmospheric effects are handled well, and the whole presentation hangs audibly well together.

The surround speakers and sub get a fair workout, and the clang of swordfights echo around the room realistically.

Features

Dimension Films have certainly outdone themselves with this disc. A commentary track with the full production team gives a number of insights into the film, although it does sometimes stray into the banal. Also, the viewer can get sick of hearing how things were too tight to be done properly, or how the time schedule or budget prevented them from doing what they really wanted. Panzer and Davis sound more and more like men who came onto the bandwagon for the money, than with any feeling of devotion to their original story.

There are also the usual behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, and even an `interactive game` - this is like a video version of Dragons Lair, and can get profoundly boring and repetitive within about 30 seconds.

DVD ROM material available includes another curiously similar interactive game, a very nicely presented timeline (although it relates only to this film - more depths of information can be found on the Internet), and a script breakdown. This is interesting, and not badly designed, however, a reader would have to be a complete fan of the franchise, and this film in particular, to read through the entire script just to note changes and comments.

The highest profile extra is that there is a complete second version of the film, which is an earlier cut. This includes different editing, sound and a mixture of complete and semi-complete effects shots. This again offers an interesting insight into the creation of a movie, and also some additional footage which was eventually cut. However once again, the viewer would have to be a real fan to watch the entire piece - raw footage with time markers still intact is not for casual viewing.

Altogether, if you are a complete Highlander nut, or someone with a deeply enquiring mind, this disc has a vast collection of treasures in its additional material to keep you entertained.

Conclusion

When anyone asks me about Endgame, I find it hard to say anything apart from "it is INTERESTING"... I don`t think it is a good film. Neither does it do very much for the original film franchise. It does, however, offer some interesting new ideas for the Highlander universe, and a transition to the screen for the stars and concepts of the series.

Standing alone, Endgame is confusing - why has Connor become so tired of life ? How come he has aged so much when he is immortal ?! (Even in scenes which are supposed to match the first film, he has clearly aged 20 years and no attempt seems to have been made to hide the fact) He spends most of the film looking like a mad scientist - more Christopher Lloyd than Christopher Lambert. Sometimes he looks like he`s sleepwalking through the role. There is also little explanation of the motivation for the characters - we are just told their relationships, and expected to believe them. Why do Kell`s cronies stick together ? How has Kell become such a major immortal when he was only `reborn` after Connor ? Why do all the immortals keep fighting and muttering "there can be only one" when there seems to be loads of immortals wandering around, and no final prize to be won ?! Why on earth has Kell become such a vicious psychopath just because another man murdered his father 400 years ago ? It just doesn`t add up.

The original Highlander movie was not particularly gory (for a film about decapitation !) because it was the story, and not the violence that played the major role. Endgame has much more violent imagery, with plenty of blood and flying limbs. I think this again is an unfortunate and unnecessary departure from the principles of the original films, and also the television series.

Highlander: Endgame also fails in the major issue when a series is brought to the big screen - it brings elements of the series into the story without explaining them fully. I found the backstory about the Watchers, and the sanctuary interesting, but without knowledge of the existence of the Watchers from the series, I was somewhat lost. Friends of Connor from the series appear in scenes without any kind of explanation. Someone coming to this film without seeing anything based on Highlander before would probably be lost beyond hope.

However, put your brain on hold, and Endgame can be almost enjoyable. Adrian Paul fits into his Highlander character well, and has the martial arts skills and the muscle to pull off the fight scenes. This disc does an incredible job of bring the film to you, with a great picture, sound and a bevy of extra materials. However, it is still a difficult disc to rate highly because the source material is just too ropey.