Page 1 of Highlander: An object lesson in flogging dead horses.

Finally saw Endgame last night and just felt like a rant. That Highlander is a franchise at all still boggles the mind. The first film was pretty good, but anything that followed was just miserable. Not only that, but anything after the first film just doesn`t work because of continuity, ie at the end of Highlander, Connor Macleod won the prize as he was the last immortal, finis, The END.

The Hall of Shame...

Highlander II: The Quickening, (Renegade etc)

This paid some lip service to continuity, by making the immortals aliens from the Planet Zeist. Set in the future, with some eco-tale about the Ozone layer. Ramirez (killed in the first movie) gets re-incarnated when MacLeod yells his name out very loud. Macleod wins the prize all over again. (Renegade version changes the aliens into time travellers)

Highlander III: The Sorceror.

Set a few years after the first film, but before the second. Macleod though he won the prize, but he didn`t, as a couple of immortal bad guys have remained buried under a mountain in Japan for a few hundred years. When they wake up, it becomes a remake of the first film.

Highlander the TV series.

Now nothing makes sense. Connor Macleod never won the prize, and every second inhabitant of the planet is an immortal. Connor`s kinsman Duncan takes over the head chopping flashback duties, as the TV series re-invents the mythology, yet again. If you though only vampire slayers had watchers think again. Loads of soft focus dry humping and more decapitations than you can shake a sword at.

Highlander: The Raven

Short lived spin-off from the TV series. Never actually seen it.

Highlander: The Animated Series.

700 years into the future the world has been devastated by a meteor hit, the immortals hold the worlds knowledge in trust, and only Quentin Macleod, the Highlander can save the world from the evil Kortan. In his quest he is aided by Ramirez, killed twice already in the first two movies. Nice to know kids can enjoy decapitations at tea-time isn`t it?

Highlander: Endgame

Finally saw this last night, and a new low has been attained. Brings together the movie mythologies and the TV mythologies and manages to bugger what`s left of them straight up. Connor Macleod ceratinly isn`t aging well for an immortal and has a few too many wrinkles and grey in his hair. So much so that they had to reshoot a couple of the scenes from the first movie because the difference was so apparent. Poorly edited, poorly acted, a plot with more holes in than Emmental, and they kill off the main character. I consoled my self that the theatrical version may have been bad but there was a extended cut on the DVD. But guess which version the BBC showed last night. If that was the extended cut, the theatrical cut must have stunk out whole cinemas.

Highlander V: The Source.

I hope to God this never gets made.

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There Can Be Only One!

There Bloody Well Should Have Been!!

endrant
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Jitendar Canth

Quote:
"Back off man, I`m a scientist!"

Site Reviewer at DVD Reviewer

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Highlander: The Raven

Short lived spin-off from the TV series. Never actually seen it.

lucky you - no continuity to the movies or the other series

BTW - Highlander begins on FX UK this week

GOD

I couldn`t agree more.

Let`s face it..Highlander is a classic movie. Great acting,superb soundtrack by queen and michael kamen, great idea, brilliantly executed (scuse the pun). So well done there is no way there could have ever have been a sequel.

BUT.. some f***u***c***k***w***i***t comes up with a stupid idea. and the unthinkable happens. they have even ALTERED the R1 version of original movie to fit in with the TV show. They removed a line of dialogue and added sound effects!!! ARGGHGH!

Highlander is great. And the story ended in 1986. full stop

My DVD Collection

This item was edited on Sunday, 11th January 2004, 17:15

It`s such a shame that the current owners of the Highlander, Friday the 13th and Hellraiser `franchises` (God, I hate that word) keep hiring the over-ripe Mr Lambert, Mr Hodder and Mr Bradley to appear in these awful sequels to great films. At the end of the day, they`re going to keep making these direct-to-video atrocities for as long as there`s a loyal fanbase who`ll spend money to see them (which will probably be a looong time). The only way to stop the endless, egregious Highlander sequels from being made is to buy the rights to the `franchise` yourself.

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The only way to stop the endless, egregious Highlander sequels from being made is to buy the rights to the `franchise` yourself.

I may have trouble coming up with the 50 p and Cornish pastie that it`s worth :)

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Jitendar Canth

Quote:
"Back off man, I`m a scientist!"

Site Reviewer at DVD Reviewer

I think all the Highlander films are sh*te. The first one could be described as below average poop, but the sequels are very good examples of how not to make a film ;)

Just trash, and not even good trash :/

I quite enjoyed the series I`m afraid!

From watching a couple of behind the scenes and making of documentaries the general consensus is that the makers of the series and the movie sequels all totally ignored the fact that number 2 was ever made - since it was crap, and completely ruined the "mythos" by saying they were all aliens.

The makers of the series always said that it was based on Highlander the movie, but was an "alternate" version of events. So the gathering hasn`t happened yet, Connor was still alive etc.

The Raven was a spin off based on one of the more popular regular characters from the series, but still set in the TV series version of events.

Highlander Endgame was a follow up to the series - and it`s alternate version - not a follow up to any of the other movies.

So there you go. Watch the first one as a stand alone classic, then forget it was ever made. Ignore the other movies except Endgame which was a follow up to the series, which was not a follow up to the first movie. Confused? You will be :D

Just to add to it, there are now rumors of a new Highlander movie with a new cast - ie no Connor or Duncan.

This item was edited on Sunday, 11th January 2004, 18:50

The origional Highlander is a great film, and will always be in my top 10 fave films...but ALL the follow ups have been a HUGE dissapointment like others have said the whole point of the origional film is that `There can be only one` so in the battle of the imortals Connor won `the prize` for being just that...the last...if he wasnt the last one then he wouldnt have got the prize at all...if there was another imortal buried in a cave or whatever it was then Connor would not have gone thru all the events at the end of the film. The second film was just laughable, the third film was just a poor remake of the first film with Mario van Peebles desperately wanting to be Clancy Brown and coming nowhere near, I gave up after that one...not seen the cartoon, the tv show etc, not interested, as far as Im concerned it ended at the end of the origional Highlander.


"I have something to say.... it`s better to burn out than to fade away!" :D


"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable" - Oscar Wilde

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Highlander V: The Source.
I hope to God this never gets made.
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Just to add to it, there are now rumors of a new Highlander movie with a new cast - ie no Connor or Duncan.
Will this exciting new chapter in the Highlander `franchise` be a commercial and/or critical triumph or will it be a piece of direct-to-video poop that`s only watched by really dedicated (or masochistic) fans? Time will tell...

Jitendar,

If you dispise the HIGHLANDER franchise as much as you say you do, why have you chosen to occupy so much of your life with learning the details of every step that it has taken since it began? Your essay was most comprehensive! In addition, if you couldn`t stand the second and third movies, what posessed you to tune-in to ENDGAME on Saturday night? :/

Kinjo.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 13th January 2004, 20:49