Christopher Babcock
June 9th, 2008, 07:27 PM
One of the best movies ever, with a shaky franchise history, I dedicate this thread to discussing all things Highlander! Be it the awesome first movie, the sh*t sequel, the average third, the crappy 4th and 5th movies based on the TV series, or the somewhat decent anime adaptation, I would like to here any opinions about any of these films.
I'll start things off. I remember when I first saw Highlander on The Movie Channel about 5 years ago. It was one of the best movies in the sword-and-sorcery genre in my opinion. Now that I'm older, I do feel that there are movies within the sword-and-sorcery genre that are better, but Highlander is still one of my all time favorites. The characters are great. Christopher Lambert does an awesome job with the brooding "I've seen it all" protagonist Connor MacLeod. As we always do, we let Sean Connery slide with his accent as an Egyptian, who dresses and has the name of a Spaniard, Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez the teacher of Connor. Clancy Brown is terrific as the over-the-top villain, and I know BobO appreciates him, the Kurgan.
The whole premise of the movie is what really gets me. The idea that there are Immortals who can live to be (potentially) millennia old, and they are in a constant struggle to kill all of the other Immortals by decapitation, all in the effort to gain each and every Immortals power, be the only one left, and win the Prize. What is the Prize? True immortality with complete invulnerability? All the riches of the world? The ability to fly? The combined Godly powers of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Allah, Crom, Cthulhu, Odin, Zeus, Lord Xenu, and Chuck Norris at your disposal!? The funny thing is that nobody knows. These guys are running around all over the world beheading each other over something that none of them even knows what it truly is! The only thing told to Connor is that the Kurgan, being simultaneously the strongest and most ruthless Immortal, cannot be allowed to have it, as mankind would suffer an eternity of darkness. So, somebody best whoop his arse or else.
The film is a little slow at some points and even a little ludicrous a lot of the time. But that’s the idea. It’s a little campy and cheesy, but that’s part of the film’s charm. There is one thing I would like to say about Highlander before I close this part. The part of the movie where Connor flashbacks to when he walks into the bar in Scotland after he dies and comes back to life for the first time. He’s being shunned by all of his clansmen who stare at him and greet him very dryly and nervously. His lover Kate has a line here that I feel really shows just how much she cares about him. The night before this, she was crying her eyes out that he was dying. Now, that he’s alive and perfectly fine, she gets this nasty little smile on her face and says “He’s in league with Lucifer!” in a very nasty half-whisper. Wow, what a committed woman. I understand that it is a little weird seeing your lover dying from a stab wound then he’s more than okay the next day, but God what a hypocrite.
Whoa that was a mouthful. For now, that’s all I have to say about the first movie. A little later in this thread I will probably add in my thoughts on the other movies. Thank you for viewing my thread. Comments and opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
EDIT:
OMG! I can't believe I forgot about this! The soundtrack by Queen. First of all Queen rocks on their own. Highlander rocks on its own. But, when you put the two together, you get something that is far beyond Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Princes of the Universe is probably my favorite Queen song, and it's thanks to Highlander that I heard it. The music just fits the movie so well, like the song Who Wants to Live Forever. It just helps you feel that even though Immortality has its pros like being able to see things that others can't, there are cons as well like watching all of your friends and family around you age and die whilst you never age and can only die by decapitation. Man Queen Rocks HARD!
I'll start things off. I remember when I first saw Highlander on The Movie Channel about 5 years ago. It was one of the best movies in the sword-and-sorcery genre in my opinion. Now that I'm older, I do feel that there are movies within the sword-and-sorcery genre that are better, but Highlander is still one of my all time favorites. The characters are great. Christopher Lambert does an awesome job with the brooding "I've seen it all" protagonist Connor MacLeod. As we always do, we let Sean Connery slide with his accent as an Egyptian, who dresses and has the name of a Spaniard, Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez the teacher of Connor. Clancy Brown is terrific as the over-the-top villain, and I know BobO appreciates him, the Kurgan.
The whole premise of the movie is what really gets me. The idea that there are Immortals who can live to be (potentially) millennia old, and they are in a constant struggle to kill all of the other Immortals by decapitation, all in the effort to gain each and every Immortals power, be the only one left, and win the Prize. What is the Prize? True immortality with complete invulnerability? All the riches of the world? The ability to fly? The combined Godly powers of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Allah, Crom, Cthulhu, Odin, Zeus, Lord Xenu, and Chuck Norris at your disposal!? The funny thing is that nobody knows. These guys are running around all over the world beheading each other over something that none of them even knows what it truly is! The only thing told to Connor is that the Kurgan, being simultaneously the strongest and most ruthless Immortal, cannot be allowed to have it, as mankind would suffer an eternity of darkness. So, somebody best whoop his arse or else.
The film is a little slow at some points and even a little ludicrous a lot of the time. But that’s the idea. It’s a little campy and cheesy, but that’s part of the film’s charm. There is one thing I would like to say about Highlander before I close this part. The part of the movie where Connor flashbacks to when he walks into the bar in Scotland after he dies and comes back to life for the first time. He’s being shunned by all of his clansmen who stare at him and greet him very dryly and nervously. His lover Kate has a line here that I feel really shows just how much she cares about him. The night before this, she was crying her eyes out that he was dying. Now, that he’s alive and perfectly fine, she gets this nasty little smile on her face and says “He’s in league with Lucifer!” in a very nasty half-whisper. Wow, what a committed woman. I understand that it is a little weird seeing your lover dying from a stab wound then he’s more than okay the next day, but God what a hypocrite.
Whoa that was a mouthful. For now, that’s all I have to say about the first movie. A little later in this thread I will probably add in my thoughts on the other movies. Thank you for viewing my thread. Comments and opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
EDIT:
OMG! I can't believe I forgot about this! The soundtrack by Queen. First of all Queen rocks on their own. Highlander rocks on its own. But, when you put the two together, you get something that is far beyond Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Princes of the Universe is probably my favorite Queen song, and it's thanks to Highlander that I heard it. The music just fits the movie so well, like the song Who Wants to Live Forever. It just helps you feel that even though Immortality has its pros like being able to see things that others can't, there are cons as well like watching all of your friends and family around you age and die whilst you never age and can only die by decapitation. Man Queen Rocks HARD!