Highlander
Sometimes a most unusual situation arises when it comes to a movie concept that potentially can be expanded into a franchise, which is, what if the original movie is so good AND manages to wrap up all possible story threads by the end, that any possibility for a sequel within that filmâs universe is rendered null and void without severely breaking nearly every single rule of continuity established therein the first story? Moreso, what if the wrapped up plotline was so tight that the impending sequels set up not just one, not two, but THREE different story arcs with no connection to each other except back to the first while all of them still break the continuity laws from beginning to end?? Thus is the very unusual case with The Highlander Franchise, where all of the above (and more) turned out to be the case, with a TV show, spinoffs, and every possible stretch of believability as a result were spawned out of a simple, yet pretty great concept: That a rarefied race of immortal beings who were all trained swordsmen had wandered the Earth for centuries, their presence unknown to mortal man, going at it in various locations and whittling themselves down by the only means possible for them to die, that of hacking off each otherâs heads and unleashing an energy field that allows them to absorb their fallen preyâs strength with the entire process ongoing until only one remains and receives âThe Prizeâ, which is having a seemingly godlike ability to know the minds of all men and bring them together, while reverting themselves to being mortal, possibly considered to be a gift in and of itself. Of course, since the final battle in THIS 1st movie was for the actual Prize, that also means that the actual story of the Immortals basically ends here, but yet the film turned out to be such a big moneymaker that a major franchise was thus born, which turned out to be both a good and a bad thing, with the bad being the compromised artistic integrity that resulted in virtually every sequel along with the TV show being a standalone film in and of itself which nonetheless expanded upon the mythology introduced in the first film to keep things cracking along as long as we were willing to accept that the implications of the events of the first film never really mattered, along with the events themselves, but the upside is that it gave the European film industry a major cash cow to call their own, with the franchise in some areas of the world said to be even more popular than Star Wars even. The appealing aspects are obvious, with international locations (and casts) and the freedom that was accorded to the writers to twist things around any way they pleased as long as they kept the story going (with the TV show literally and predictably taking on an âImmortal Villain Of The Weekâ bent to it). All while it was clear that the story really did end with the first movie released in 1985, as was intended, with many of the stronger story elements being nullified by what came after, starting off with the legendary opening shot of wrestling legends The Fabulous Freebirds entering the arena at Madison Square Garden (actually an AWA / NWA supercard at The Meadowlands) followed by an even more iconic tracking shot through the crowd when we suddenly spot our hero. Christopher Lambert is one of the more unique movie stars of the 80s, a heavily accented French leading man who regardless carried an amazingly haunted presence and charisma about him, which in turn allowed him to successfully be the flag bearer of this franchise as Connor MacLeod, a Scottish clan member who is seemingly killed in battle but rises from the dead only to discover his immortality, but then draws hatred and enmity from his fellow Clansman and is driven from their village after they declare him as having been in league with The Devil. MacLeod soon settles down with a cute and sweet bonny lass who accepts him for what he is, but when she grows old and dies of old age, he wanders the Earth before settling down in New York City under one of many aliases he has been forced to use, complete with a middle aged personal assistant whom he had adopted and raised as his own daughter, as he awaits the final battle with the ultimate enemy whom he fears. That enemy is The Kurgan, played by the massively underrated Clancy Brown in a villain performance that steals the show so to speak to use the old clichĂ©. Leering, maniacal, and utterly perverse in the way that he speaks to his opponents as well as to normal people, Brown ensures that no actor after him to play a bad guy in a Highlander project (and thereâve been some good ones) will ever be able to top him, including a near legendary shit talking scene with Connor inside a church that reportedly had the actual priests there who were offscreen watching the filming literally crossing themselves at his ad libbed sense of decadence while gleefully reveling being in character. MacLeodâs training to fight this monster (and training to get the hang of being Immortal) comes to be through his association with Ramirez, an Egyptian born rogue with a Spanish wardrobe style, played here in one of the most offbeat (and welcome) pieces of out of left field casting ever in cinema history by none other than Sean Connery, leading one to feel at first that this type of film is beneath him but yet he manages to slide into the thick of things so well as the mentor to MacLeod that we quickly feel that he definitely belongs amongst the proceedings as much as anyone, even as he was (and is) a bigger star and legend than any of the other 3 lead actors in the film combined. Ramirez is an Obi Wan type with a sense of fun and a twinkle in his eye, always frustrating MacLeod with his offbeat sense of humor while still training him in the knowledge of the swordsman (nearly every shot in the Scotland scenes is a beautifully composed work of art) while imparting the proper amount of wisdom about how to handle being Immortal without losing your mind. But yet there is a melancholy about Connery that he correctly interprets as a major weakness. Having married and lost three wives to old age, the shattering grief created by it can actually give an Immortal as much motivation as anything to LOSE when the moment of truth arrives. And it is there that through both Kurgan and MacLeod that the upside and the downside of Immortality are reflected, with Kurganâs upside being that along with an absolute contempt for mortal human life, being Immortal to him means that you have the unbridled freedom to do pretty much anything you want to do no matter how heinous with little to no fear of retribution from anyone or anything, while MacLeodâs downside is his feeling the pain of actually loving others (especially his own late wife) while agonizing over the reality that he will outlive them all as they pass on, once again as with Connery weakening the motivation to face the challenge that he must face, as it is made clear that if Kurgan wins The Prize, the powers that it will bestow upon him will make him into a literal Antichrist figure on Earth, albeit a mortal one, which seems to be the true beauty of The Prize, to finally be able to live (and die) as a normal human being, with enough supernatural foresight to be able to make a positive difference in this world as well. Such depth can be considered rare for what many wrote off at the time as a ridiculously overwrought fantasy film, with Roxanne Hart rounding out the main cast as a police forensics expert (and sword nut) who gives MacLeod a reason to fight with all of his heart in the (also iconic) final fight scene. Special mention must also be given to Queenâs killer rock soundtrack, with two tracks (Princes Of The Universe and Who Wants To Live Forever) achieving such a popularity that they were also used as anthems on the TV show. In the end, a moving, rousing, epic, and most of all fun fantasy film that has stood the test of time due to its concept, which mostly inspired rather than preceded the follow ups that came after itâŠ
10/10