Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

They used to say "there can be only one" great highlander film.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present "great highlander film" number 2 and one of the best and most highly entertaining anime films of its genre.

"Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is one of the few rare anime co-productions created specifically for an international audience in mind. In highlander's case, up-and-coming Imagi Animation studios(creators of 2007's TMNT) teamed up with Davis-Panzer Productions and Madhouse Studios to produce this modern animated spectacle based loosely on the cult hit Highlander franchise. By "loosely" I mean that this Highlander show should be viewed as an "alternate universe" separate from the existing highlander movie and TV series; related only in the basic mythos of immortals, swords-n-sorcery, "the quickening" and other basic aspects of what makes Highlander "highlander".

Colin Macleod (the 4th named Macleod character following Connor, Duncan and Quentin. Though he is not officially a "Macleod" clansman by blood) travels the post apocalyptic wasteland or the world seeking to exact his revenge on the immortal Marcus Octavius. The reasons for his obsession with vengeance are told through flashbacks into the past in typical highlander style. We find out that Marcus was directly or indirectly responsible basically for every crappy thing that has ever happened to Colin. From The death of his first wife, to the discovery of Colin's immortality following his first fatal fight with Marcus and his subsequent branding as a devil and being hunted by his own clansmen. Through the course of history, Colin has tried many times to kill Marcus but ends up being severely out matched by his superior adversary. He arrives in a decimated New York in which Marcus Octavius has established himself as dictator. Teaming up with a band of rebels, including Dahlia, a woman who reminds him of his dead wife, Colin Macleod prepares to exact his revenge one final time.

Despite the small number of science fiction clichés like a rebel gang trying to take down an evil despot and some humanity killing virus, I found the story to be quite a strong one which presented a perspective on immortal life that was slightly different from the original Highlander. Where Connor in the original film treasured every moment of his immortal life, made numerous friends across the years, and went so far as to keep an entire room filled with mementos of his exploits throughout history, Colin has let the years slip by. Whatever new experiences he could have had, whatever friends he could have made, were always sidelined due to his obsession with vengeance. By the time we see him in the post apocalyptic setting, he is a lone wanderer with nothing to his name other than a fleeting memory of his wife, and an obsession that is as immortal as himself.

Unwillingness to change and unwillingness to let go of the past has even affected Colin's battle prowess. Unlike previous highlander protagonists, Colin never received proper sword training. His fighting style has never changed over the years, hence his numerous defeats. I like his very direct fighting style(he basically just waits for an opening and finishes off his opponent with a well placed strike), which actually stands in stark contrast to Marcus's fighting style(he has very calm and composed feel and likes to play around with his opponent, proving his superiority, before the final cut); each man's sword techniques mirror's their personality.

Also, I actually found this theme of how an obsession can drive someone to forsake the smaller but more important things in life (such as love and friendship) to be quite a heart wrenching one. This story theme can be even seen as a cautionary tale of sorts as parallels can be drawn between Colin's obsession and "workaholics" in the real world obsessed only in their work and forsaking so much more.

This intriguing story is complemented by some extremely beautiful animation. Yoshiaki Kawajiri applies his trademark style to Highlander making each fight scene a veritable visual feast with his dynamic shot angles, slow motion, and an extremely smooth animation frame-rate. Bloodletting is not as over-the-top as his previous work, ninja scroll, but it is sufficient to keep fans of bloody action happy. Oh yes, and in typical Kawajiri style, there is the mandatory nudity and sex scene in this movie(then again, there is a mandatory sex scene in every other Highlander movie, so nothing new here)

This film does suffer from a few low points here and there, namely in the pacing and the dialog. At times the movie moves along real slowly and this is not helped by the uninteresting script. At other times the show feels truncated and squeezed, with scenes rushing by or ending too abruptly. Also, a longer running time would have improved the narrative by a fair bit(86 minutes is too short to fully flesh out the story and back-story). The voice actors do a great job of instilling their characters with well rounded personalities and very realistic emoting on par with the acting in the original Highlander movie. Too bad about the lazy script and dialog they were given to work with.

Another low point would be how the movie expects the viewer to be familiar with aspects of the Highlander mythos like "the quickening" or the "no fighting on holy ground" rule. Such things are never clearly explained which might confuse the heck out of people who are new to the franchise.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is among one of the stronger entries into the Highlander franchise. As an anime film it is very appealing both story-wise and visual-wise. However, do not expect deep philosophical ramblings like Ghost in The Shell or heartwarming family stories like Ponyo. This is a straight forward action movie; pure unadulterated violence but with a great story, characters and some thought provoking underlying themes.

I am big fan of Yoshiaki Kawajiri and it pains me to see such a production with his name on it. Yes, the visuals are great, but even they get irritating as the movie goes on, because someone decided that almost every action scene and many of the ordinary ones should be done with 3D, and when you see that same method re-used for the 50th time in just 80 minutes... well not only isn't it impressive anymore but very annoying.

Whatever the problems the movie had, I wouldn't be that disappointed if it wasn't the *STORY* - awful, cliché after cliché, unbelievably cheesy b-movie lines and one of the worst juxtaposion of sex scene ever (lighting candles??? what the hell?!)... The script really ruins everything good, and the characters are very flat and stereotypical, not to mention most of their designs are almost copy&paste from Kawajiri's previous works. And not only the characters are copied but whole scenes (e.g. the battle on the rooftops - Animatrix: Program), and though not 1:1 you still get a bitter deja-vu quite often.

So thank you but I'd stick with Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll - Highlander is no way near them.

As one has to expect from Yoshiaki Kawajiri, this film will get you glued to the screen, it has loads of action, a decent story, and details typical from previous films Kawajiri's directed before (A cynical hero, strong willed women, ruthless and cunning villains, and annoying, but wise, old men).However, it seems to lack the distinctive "atmosphere" that previous Kawajiri anime flicks had (at least in my opinion, for those who have seen Ninja Scroll or Cyber City Oedo you can feel that "darker" atmosphere). Probably because the color scheme was brighter. I won't spoil the story, as it's very interesting and you'll probably and up watching it even if you aren't a Highlander fan. As for this movie, its not linked to the original in any way (sans the immortality plot), but somehow demonstrates how the follow-ups should have been, instead of making those bad sequels with rather bad concepts.

This version is an alternative of the original Highlander movie! The rules (concerning immortals) are the same and the story involves a character originated from the Highlands (Scotland)! His name is Colin Mcleod from the clan Mcleod! Other than this there is no relation to the film series or the TV show! But I have to say I enjoyed this a whole lot better than any sequel made after the original Highlander! The animation is beautiful and there is plenty of action! Even the story (simple but effective) is enjoyable! As a first animated movie this is a great one! This anime revives the "Highlander" myth in such a way that movie producers of any sequel from the Higlander film series should wonder what they are doing wrong! I don't know if there are plans to make a sequel! But if there aren't any there should be!

Legendary Japanese Anime' director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (the more-than-capable cult talent behind the explicit blood-letters "Ninja Scroll" and "Wicked City") took on the American "Highlander" series with this latest entry "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance." "The Search for Vengeance" is not a sequel per se, but is instead something closer to a Japanese animation re-imagining of the famous fantasy tale that spawned the immortal tag-line, "There can be only one."

For those not versed in "Highlander" mythology, I'll fill you in: "Highlander" first came to be in the mind of writer Gregory Widen, who in turn pitched his idea to studio bosses about an ages-old battle between a group of immortal swordsmen who can only die by one another's hand, specifically by decapitation. When one of these immortals falls, his killer gains his knowledge and strength (such an event is called a "quickening") and he will continue his pursuit of the mystical "prize" during a time called the "gathering" when these epic sword battles take place. There are several rules all immortals must abide by though: never fight on holy ground and, most importantly, never fall in love with a mortal because, then, you will only know pain and suffering.

Widen's script (co-written with Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson) was made into the 1986 cult film "Highlander," which starred Christopher Lambert as the Scottish Highlander Connor MacLeod, who discovers his "gift" after suffering a mortal wound on the battlefield and assumes different identities as he descends through the ages with the knowledge of never knowing death. "Highlander" saw three misshapen sequels, a television series (which starred Adrian Paul), and dozens of comic books before we landed at this new Anime' film from Kawajiri. As a fan of Anime' and the first "Highlander" movie, you could expect a little bit of skepticism about a new film, whether animated or not just because we've become so used to expecting so little from the series.

Like the first "Highlander," "The Search for Vengeance" is equal parts present-story and back-story, with sudden, unexpected transitions between the present and the past. In the year 2187, Scotsman Colin MacLeod (with no stated relationship to Connor) meets his fate on the battlefield and discovers his allegiance to the band of immortals. And, Holy Lazarus, he is branded a witch by his former countrymen and is watched over by the wise-cracking spirit of a Druid priest named Amergan. For 2000 years, MacLeod has been searching through the ages chasing his mortal enemy, the Roman general Marcus Octavius, after Octavius crucified MacLeod's wife Moya in the 16th century and in these encounters, MacLeod is always bloodily outmatched and left crippled but alive and ready to fight another time (despite refusing to uphold Moya's dying wish of no retribution for her killing).

Now in a post-apocalyptic New York City, MacLeod arrives on the scene and joins rebel Dahlia and an underground band of freedom fighters in a desperate battle against Octavius, who is now a full-fledged dictator and rules the city from, dare I say, a futuristic version of Trump Tower with his army of robotic sentinels and scientists working on a top-secret project meant to wipe out the underground resistance once and for all. In these battles, we also get flashbacks to Colin's past, the battles he's fought with Octavius, and his undying love for Moya.

While suffering from some script problems, because of the transitions between past and present, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is still one heck of a film experience. This is perhaps because of an outsider's view, Kawajiri's view. In Kawajiri's hands, the series now seems fresh and full of new life, with many new technical innovations on the story and characters. For 21 years now since 1986, we've had to endure one painful "Highlander" experience after the other. Here, it's clear that Kawajiri has a firm grip on the story and knows everywhere the "Highlander" sequels went wrong (and they went wrong in a lot of places).

Another problem the film suffers from are one-dimensional characters. A skilled swordsman like Colin MacLeod, a man who has literally fallen through time and lives with the burden of knowing he will never die, is transformed into more of a one-note, tortured loner, or even a ronin (a master-less samurai). Perhaps the samurai angle is because of the Japanese influence on the story. The only other character who really stands out in any real way is Dahlia, who has a secret connecting her to Macleod's past and eventually becomes his love interest. Octavius is different from most "Highlander" villains in that he is not crazy and all over the place, but is instead soft-spoken, never raises his voice, and highly sexual with his Japanese mistress (is Clancy Brown, who played the Kurgan in the first "Highlander," the best the movies have to offer?). And lastly, am I the only one who thinks Octavius looks like the villain Gemma from Kawajiri's previous "Ninja Scroll"?

Even with its faults, nudity and extremely bloody violence, this is nonetheless a fitting reinvention of a fantasy story that many thought had long outlived its uniqueness in the genre. For many, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is at last the sequel we've been waiting for.

8/10