HIGHLANDER (1986)

HIGHLANDER (1986)

Tagline: Don't lose your head

(Action, Adventure, There Can Be Only One) [R]

From the dawn of time we came; moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you... until now.

In this one, centuries ago, Connor MacLeod discovers he is immortal after a huge battle with a crazed barbarian named Kurgan. His village however believes it is the work of the devil, so he is cast out and meets a woman named Heather. He is living a happy life with her when a man named Ramirez shows up and says that he is immortal as well. Ramirez trains Connor to fight with a sword knowing that one day they will have to face the “gathering” where the few remaining immortals will fight for the “prize”. Meanwhile, in modern-day Connor is an antique dealer who is being hunted by other immortals. The only way to kill an immortal is to sever their head from their body, so naturally, the NYPD is not taking kindly to beheadings going on downtown. 

First off, just the opening scene of this movie is worth a watch, because it’s basically a wrestling match with QUEEN’s “Princes of the Universe” cranking in the background. Apparently, they liked the movie so much the 1 song they were going to do for it turned into 8. Whenever you have QUEEN doing an entire soundtrack, there is a 95% chance that movie is going to be awesome. 

Effects wise everything in this is either using animation techniques or practical effects. It’s extremely effective. This is one of those movies where everything explodes. You just remodeled that new kitchen… well sorry about that, because we’ve got immortals fighting it out and if one of them shows up at your place, there is an 80% chance your shiny new kitchen is going to freakin explode. On top of that, you might want to get a mop and like some serious cleaner. 

Acting-wise I have always liked Christopher Lambert. He plays Connor MacLeod in this movie and he carries himself really well. Even his odd speaking style feels very much like it fits in this movie. I guess when they started filming, he barely spoke English. The lead actress, Roxanne Hart, who plays a sword expert named Brenda is fairly good in this. I don’t want to say she’s great, but she is still acting as of 2021, so that says a lot. Sean Connery plays Ramirez and he is pretty awesome in this. His character is actually pretty delightful a lot like his character in TIME BANDITS. So we’ve got some characters we are rooting for and for me that is always a huge plus. The movie's main villain is played by Clancy Brown who seems to have a knack for being the one you can’t stand in movies. He’s been in over 300 different productions and done a ton of voice work (including SCOOBY-DOO! MYSTERY INCORPORATED) on top of acting. Beatie Edney has a lesser role as “Heather”, in this but also does really well and is still acting and is probably best known for the HIGHLANDER series. 

The pacing in this is good, but if I am being honest, this is a pretty long way to tell a story that ultimately could have been a 90-minute movie. There are maybe 7 minutes of sword fighting scenes and 149 minutes of laying a rich back story which is interesting but could have just been shown in a short montage. Having said all that the method by which the story is conveyed is probably what most people loved about it. There are some really cool flashback scenes that I am glad we got. As far as the ’80s go, this thing is definitely a standout. 

Overall I have to give this thing a 5 out of 7. It does get a bit long-winded and it’s not a movie I feel I need to watch more than once every 5 years or so. Still, it is a cult classic that spawned sequels and a TV show, which is no light accomplishment and the production is top-notch.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THORN EMI SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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