So the Highlander franchise has become a joke. The first sequel was an embarrassment and while the second attempt was better, its still not a very good film.
The franchise decided to stay away from movies for a while after that and a TV spin off was created instead.
I don’t really want to cover the TV show here as I only want to concentrate on the movies themselves and I really didn’t like it much anyway.
But I bring up the TV show for a good reason as the next film ties the original film series with the TV spin off.
Quick synopsis of the TV show: Duncan MacLeod is a fellow clansman of Connor MacLeod and another immortal, Duncan has lived for around 400 years. Connor comes to Duncan to ask him to help good win over evil by hunting evil immortals.
In 2000, a film was made that tied together both the continuity of the movies and the TV show.
Highlander: Endgame: As I said, this was an attempt at bridging the film series with the TV show. Christopher Lambert is back as Connor MacLeod as well as Adrian Paul playing Duncan MacLeod from the TV spin off.
In 1555, Connor returns to his former home in Glenfinnan, Scotland where his mother is being terrorised by the village priest Jacob Kell. Kell eventually executes Connor’s mother for witchcraft. This angers Connor who then kills Kell and sets Glenfinnan ablaze.
Jacob Kell is reborn as an immortal and vows vengeance and spends the next four centuries killing people Connor cares about.
Connor departs for ‘The Sanctuary’, a place where Immortals are put under surveillance by a subgroup called ‘Watchers’ to prevent ‘The Prize’ from being won. Kell finds and attacks ‘The Sanctuary’ and Connor along with all the other immortals there are believed to have been beheaded.
Meanwhile, Duncan has a vision of ‘The Sanctuary’ and starts to investigate. He learns that Connor was spared by Kell and is very much still alive. Kell plans on killing Duncan to punish Connor further, yet Connor tells Duncan that Connor must be beheaded by Duncan so he can grow stronger in order to kill Kell.
An ‘interesting’ idea of trying to tie in the film franchise with the TV spin off I admit. But interesting does not mean it was good. This just boils down to being one of those “not as bad as Highlander II” films.
With the fourth film in the franchise all done, what is next?
It would be around here when fans will say: “What about the animated movie?”
Well first, I have not seen it and second, from what I have researched it really has nothing to do with the live action films away. Yeah the main character is a MacLeod…but its an adoptive name so he is no relation to either Connor or Duncan.
Yet many do consider is canon. So I’ll mention it anyway.
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance: I have never seen this as I previously mentioned, but from what I gather it is supposed to be quite good.
Though I’m not sure how to trust the prase when most of it claims its the best film with the Highlander name since the first one. I mean, that is not high praise as far as I am concerned as every film after the first one has been complete shit to just plain horedous at best.
When a film is ‘praised’ for not being as bad as Highlander II…that’s not really praise in my eyes.
Once bitten and all that.
Still, maybe one day I’ll give it a view.
So onto the final of the canonical Highlander films…at last…
Highlander: The Source: Many think Highlander II was the worst of the sequels…prepare to be wronged.
Some people do not even know this film exists as it was not a big release, it was not even a direct to DVD release either. It was an exclusive made for the Sci-Fi channel (no, I’m not spelling it that way. Its Sci-Fi okay.)
A low budget, asinine effort. But what about the plot eh?
Well Duncan MacLeod is back this time having to fight his way to ‘The Source’ with his small team of instantly forgettable sidekicks. While they fend off the new bad guy on the block…’The Guardian’.
So what is ‘The Source’? Well its this thing that the story writer included into the film for some reason. Quite honestly, I just explained it better there then they do in the film.
I kind of don’t want to talk about this one too much as I really don’t feel like giving this film any more of my personal effort or time and also, I feel this is something that needs to be seen to be believed.
Really, stop reading this and go track down a copy of Highlander: The Source and watch it.
This film is so bad it honestly makes Highlander II look quite good.
There is a Highlander sequel that is worse than Highlander II. Just let that sink in for a while…
Well that is all of the ‘proper’ Highlander films right there. There’s still more to come in Part III where I quickly round up the films, offer my own views and just ask…what the hell happened to this franchise?
Connor MacLeod: “Life brings hope and pain, but revenge never brings redemption.”
Little Bits of Gaming & Movies 