Highlander, le retour

...if you watch the Renegade Version on DVD. It includes nineteen minutes of additional footage, and does not once mention the planet Zeist. This version makes a lot more sense and follows the plot of the first Highlander film a lot more closely. If you're going to get this movie, get the Renegade Version.

Let's face it...."Highlander" was a masterpiece, and trying to top it would be...well...suicide. So naturally, "Highlander II" was going to be a disappointment. No one expected an "Empire Strikes Back."

"Highlander II" has the set up for a bad film. Despite terrific special effect, it is choppy, uneventful, and an insult to the viewer's intelligence. But in all due seriousness, THAT WAS THE POINT!

This film, in it's original, pre-Renegade edition form, was not meant to be taken seriously. It was just a campy, fun film designed to be a reunion of the characters from part one. If you watch it expecting something deep, you won't like it. But if you view it as it was intended to be viewed, as a light-hearted reunion of Lambert and Connery for ninety minutes of fun, than FUN is what you'll get. Consider it like an early experiment of something "Fifth Element" perfected: a campy but good sci-fi film.

With this in mind, give it a try.

Ah, friends. Come sit with me as we experience the Quickening. If we both stick our hands into a puddle of orange, shiny goo, we'll be shocked, and yet, united. Then we can battle the evil Katana and save Zeist from ... from what?

This is the effect of HIGHLANDER II.

HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING is set in the future. Well, at least, I think it is. The film begins on Earth in the year 1999. Then, it heads off to the planet Zeist 500 years before. Following that, we're back to Earth in the year 2024. I'd say the film is pretty much divided between being on Earth in 2024 and Zeist 500 years before, but I think it was meant to be on Earth in 2024.

Now that that's cleared up ...

Imagine, if you will, that most of what they told us in the original HIGHLANDER was crap. Immortals don't come from nowhere, they come from the planet Zeist. The entire original HIGHLANDER movie was lies! Lies! Lies!

And if you believe that, I've got some $200,000 property for you down in sunny North Carolina.

Connor MacLeod, the main character of the original film (played by Christopher Lambert), is old and dying. When, in 1999, the Earth's ozone layer was nearly completely gone, MacLeod created The Shield Corporation, which then created a shield which would protect the Earth from the sun's violent rays. But in 2024, the world is a dark dungheap, and MacLeod's pretty much to blame.

Now let's go back to the planet Zeist. General Katana (Michael Ironside) is pretty pissed. MacLeod's still alive. So he sends his two retarded minions to kill MacLeod. The extremely elderly MacLeod somehow starts dancing around like Dean Martin and beheads both of them. The power of their lifeforce makes him young once again and free to kiss terrorist Louise Marcus (Virginia Madsen) and then try to take down the world's anti-Ozone shield. Oh yeah, the ozone's healed, by the way.

So then Katana comes to Earth to kill MacLeod, who is suddenly super-cool and ready to kill Katana. But for some reason, he needs help. So the producers paid Sean Connery $3.5 million. Behold! Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez is resurrected from the dead and comes back (for nine minutes of screen time) to help MacLeod shut down the shield.

If you haven't figured it out by now, HIGHLANDER II is completely messed-up.

I haven't seen a sequel this bad in who knows how long. It contradicts the entire HIGHLANDER mythos, and thus was ignored in every other sequel and television series that followed.

But there is a good side to the film. I think Ebert said it best in his review of the film: he describes HIGHLANDER II as being "a movie almost awesome in its badness". How awesome do you hear that? But that's exactly what HIGHLANDER II is: almost awesome in its badness.

It may be one of the worst films ever made, and it may be the worst sequel, but it is also a very fun and frequently (unintentionally) funny film. In the words of the Immortal Ramirez, "If you can summon it all up, at one time, in one place, you can accomplish something glorious."

Whatever that means.

NOTE: There are two versions of the film. The theatrical version, called the Quickening, has just been reviewed here. The director's cut has been re-named the "Renegade Version" and changes much of the film's story. The film has also been completely re-edited. The Quickening version runs 89 minutes, while the Renegade version runs 109.

HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING by Russell Mulcahy. * 1/2 out of ****.

*** (4*'s) We all know the story. Here is a review.

THE QUICKENING: Best scene in this cut is the opening. The rest of the this film transitions very poorly. Some dialogue is silenced, but we still see their lips moving. The movie is entertaining, still, but doesn't make much sense. Connery's scenes are misplaced, he is almost forgotten, at times. Katana kills David Blake just moments after meeting him in this one. The ending is the most incompetant for the most part. Connor is wearing a prison jacket, then suddenly switches to a trench coat, holding a broad sword after just having a samurai sword. The closing scene is bad also.

RENEGADE VERSION: An excellent, totally revamped sci-fi cut of this often misconcepted sequel. This time, they are not aliens from Zeist. They are from the past, more like a different dimension. Character development is re-attached, plot holes are filled in, and we get a chance to see a blue sky at one point.

Overall opinions: Lambert's acting is at it's best. He seems to be really into his character in this movie. Ironside is a great villain. He chews the scenery, hams it up with comic book dialogue, and demonstrates some memorable killings (the subway holocaust, and the cabbie killing). Watch both versions, you'll find them interesting in comparison.

Do yourself a favor, and don't even bother seeing the original release.

GET THE DIRECTOR'S CUT! It rids itself of the alien rubbish, adds a few sequences that bring some coherence and generally makes the movie less painful for true Highlander fans.

From what I understand, the movie was never made the way the director and stars envisioned it (due to Corporate involvement), so they went back and reshot some sequences and did some serious editing. When they were done, it fit much better into the Highlander universe, and compromised the story line much less (although there are still some holes).

So, if you get a chance, SEE THE DIRECTOR'S CUT! Otherwise, don't bother...