Highlander

The sheer idiocy of Highlander just surprises me. It is so clumsily assembled and preposterously written that I find it hard to believe that what I saw on screen was the original plan of director Russell Mulcahy. At any rate, the fact still stands that Highlander is lame. With that said, I suppose it has a little to offer. There are a few nice shots, a few more 'very' nice ones, and a couple of mildly enjoyable fight scenes. Unfortunately, there is also weak acting, even weaker dialogue, messy editing, and music ques which come in all the wrong places. Most of all though, Highlander is just dumb. It has nowhere to go really, and so instead it just seems to go in circles. When all is said and done, the picture doesn't deliver enough to be worth a hundred minute time investment.

Sean Connery wonderfully Sean ...... how did he get away with a Scottish accent regardless of the nationality he's playing? This time he's an Egyptian with a Spanish name - I'm so glad they tell us. Loved him in this. Christopher Lambert - he's French playing the part of the highlander, to the the untrained ear he managed to roll two "Rs" in the whole film, and even then it requires a total suspension of reality to say he sounded remotely Scottish. The costume department must have blown their budget on the period costume which forced the lead to ware the dodgiest rain coat tor the contemporary chunk of the film. CL as the highlander has to be the all time "You what?" moment in casting but somehow the haunting music by Queen, the story, wanting the fantasy to be real and the scenery makes it all ok. Suspend that disbelief and enjoy.......... p.s. it must be time for a remake ... please?

Highlander is about Connor MacLeod, a 18th century Scottish noblemen that discovers that he's immortal. To divulge any more would spoil the fun. Highlander is a quintessential 80's fantasy movie that has a great Queens soundtrack and great cinematography. There's also a great villainous performance from Clancy Brown as The Kurgan. Sean Connery is also good in a supporting role as MacLeod's mentor.

I think if this came out in the earlier half of the decade it would have been more successful financially. However, in Europe the film was a hit and it cemented it's cult status. Highlander has an original concept that immortals have been fighting each other for an eternity for "the prize", when only a few remain. The film looks great and was slickly shot with the triumphant music of Queen in the background. There is a good amount of action and Christopher Lambert has a good presence as the lead. He also had excellent chemistry with Sean Connery (who gave one of his most memorable performances). The best performance comes from Clancy Brown who is terrifying as barbarian immortal "The Kurgan". There is a whole lot of good swordfighting action to be had here, as well as quotable dialogue and occasional humor. Highlander was really well written and original fantasy action film. The sequels don't measure up to this at all. But this is a really unique and very good film that holds up well.