Highlander: Endgame

This is my favorite Highlander film since the original. Face it. Christopher Lambert is getting to old to play an immortal. And Duncan. Well I like the series. But I like the movies as well. The fighting in this movie was better choreographed than the previous films. I give the movie a 7/10. I think Highlander films have reached there end. If not. I hope the producers pull something out of a hat and have Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert come back. Maybe after Duncan wins the prize?

Lets be fair. This is not Highlander 4, it's the capstone movie to Highlander the Series. The Series has only the name, and the overall plot concepts in common with the original movie, and the others. There really should be no continuity comparisons between this movie and the others, as it follows them only in name, not in story.

The series is it's own storyline, always was. It changed many of the 'established facts' of the original movie to better suit a long running series, rather than a 2 hr film. More or less, the original movie was set late in the 'game', when there were only a handful of the immortals left. The Gathering was near. In the series, the gathering isn't nearing, it's more of a legend. The number of immortals is large (Duncan does quite a bit of thinning, but still there are more), and new ones are being created all the time. This 'game' may run forever. This idea is well suited for a series, something that can last for many many many episodes. You can't string the audience along with 6 immortals for 8 seasons, it would be boring.

Taking the film for what it is, it's all right. I wasn't overly impressed, but it wasn't as annoying or repulsive as 2 and 3. Duncan was a more important character than Connor in the series. Connor was mainly there to introduce the series, and give the pilot a boost. He was really a minor character. In the series, immortals had very complex relationships, and sometimes working together for years. This was in the first movie, but in a more guarded, limited capacity. Ramirez implied he was going to move on once Connor was ready to make his own in the world, and Castagir hadn't seen Connor in 100 years, it being 200 years since they spent any time together. Not as chummy, but not 100% cold shoulder either.

The film works hard to explain differences in the life of Connor from first movie to series/last movie, doing a pretty good job, it does seem rushed, and a little contrived, but it worked. Like most Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories, the more they try to explain 'how things work' the deeper and deeper they dig themselves into a hole. This creates one of the silliest or most confusion elements of the story: transference of Quickening. Which annoyed many viewers.

Overall, for a fan of the series, this should be an enjoyable film. For fans of the original film, it may be disappointing. Personally, I am holding out for a movie version of a rumored screenplay: a biopic of Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez, that Spanish Peacock!!! (Maybe Connery can be talked into it, but I won't hold my breath)

All you people saying that the Christopher Lambert is too old to play an immortal should realize that he is only 2 years older then Adrian Paul!!! My God, some of you act like Lambert is 20 years Paul's senior! These guys are basically the same age, so if you call Lambert old, then you are calling Paul old. Lambert is 45 years old, and Paul is 43. At the time of this movie's release in 2000, Lambert was 43 and Paul was 41. Some generational gap eh? If Lambert looked sickly, then it's because he is suffering from myopia, a condition he has always had that has been getting worse.

I stated this in a comment I posted on IMDB.com's "Highlander The Series" section and I will state it here. Christopher Lambert is the superior actor to Adrian Paul. Not only that, but I prefer Lambert's Connor MacLeod to Paul's Duncan MacCleod. I found Connor to be an everyman character, while Paul was an over the top, over manly character. Adrian Paul is so over hunky with that muscular body and pony-tail, that he is unintentionally hilarious. Paul looks like one of those male models spoofed in the movie ZOOLANDER. Come on, the guy looks like a male stripper that should be named "Rico" or something. Guys like Adrian Paul, Antonio Banderas and Lorenzo Lamas are so over hunky that they are all unintentionally hilarious. I know the ladies love Paul, but I found I could relate to Lambert/Connor far more then I could ever relate to Paul/Duncan. Connor was an everyman with a sense of humour, and yet at the same time he came across as well cultured and as well traveled as you would expect an immortal man to be. Duncan was an otherworldy and unreal character with little sense of humour. Duncan was too dark, too brooding. And yes I did find it insulting that the focus of the movie series moved to Duncan. To hell with Duncan, Connor is the real Highlander. I like the TV show, it's very well made and has far better writing and stories then Highlander II-IV ever had. But I wish the TV show revolved around Connor instead of Duncan, if it did it would have been more then a cult favorite. If the TV show was about Connor then it would have really been something on the scale of X-Files or Star Trek. Too bad it had to be about the over the top Duncan.

Long live Connor MacLeod!! The TRUE Highlander!!!!

Overall, this was not a bad flick. It's not quite as good as the first one, but is much better than the second. I'd have given it a higher rating than I did if they'd just left out the high speed kung fu stuff - it's too much like all the cheap Bruce Li rip off movies. Anyway, the story in this one is good and it tidies up everything rather nicely at the end. They do leave one thread hanging but I don't think that was to provide the backdrop for another film. I think this one's the last Highlander film - at least I hope so. I believe that the Highlander "thing" has gone about as far as it can. It would be difficult to come up with anything original for another film. Again, this film isn't bad at all and nearly makes up for the poor middle of this series. The tie-in between the film McLeod and the TV McLeod was handled very well, I thought. I really liked the first film and I like this one pretty well also.

this movie is good, great story, great background, great acting, great speical effects, great casting and a very good fighting sequences.this is a good movie for all highlander fans thru out the world.

i hope the production put the highlander movie's in video and DVD as well the highlander series too on video and DVD. ( for example : season 1 to 5 or 6 plus the behind-the-scenes footages and bloopers for free ). that will be great idea for christmas presents but also then again it up to the production or company.

if the creator of the highlander series and the movie, he should put Quentin macleod with duncun macleod in " highlander 5 " plus the new show called ( highlander the series : the lost clan ). it's just an idea of mine, i hope this will help the creator of the movies and series if he read this.