Review Time - Highlander

I just recently watched the 1986 flick Highlaner, and it's a bit of an oddball. Its cult status has spawned many sequels and spin offs, almost all of which are reviled, but to many the original is considered a classic. To me, the film has its fair share of faults, but sort of ends up being pretty watchable overall. It's not great, but it's worth watching. What in God's name am I rambling about? Well, read on to find out.


Highlander is a swords and (kind of) sorcery fantasy alternately set in ye olde Scotland and modern day America. The film centres on a group of immortal beings, helpfully called "the immortals", who all find themselves drawn to New York for a great prophesised battle, called The Gathering. The film centres around the four century old immortal MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), a sassy reporter called Brenda (Roxanne Hart)... Wait, actually she's a forensics expert. She sure does love her sassy reportin' though. Seán Connery basically steals the show whenever he shows up as the slightly mad mentor Ramirez, and finally we have The Kurgan (Clancy Brown), whose ridiculous outfit and growly voice don't make it immediately obvious he's the villain at all. No sir.

Clearly, a friend to all of God's animals.

The Gathering has drawn all the immortals to the same place for a final battle, with some mysterious mystical prize going to the victor, which all begins with MacLeod doing epic battle with another Immortal in a parking lot. Epic here meaning clumsy sword fighting choreography, running across cars rather awkwardly and lots of unnecessary back flips. MacLeod wins the battle by decapiting his foe; decapitation, we're told, is the only way an immortal can die, and the victor then gains their power whilst all the nearby scenery blows to make sure we get the message. The fight scenes vary between cheesy and slightly less cheesy but kinda cool, and they're always at least somewhat entertaining.

Throughout the film, we also get many flashbacks of MacLeod's life in Scotland: the story of how he became and immortal, and how he got to know the badass that is Séan Connery. It's here that the film really picks up. The flashbacks tell an interesting and somewhat tragic tale, and at times it really shows a lot of heart. It makes it all the more frustrating when the film constantly flits back to the New York timeline, as nothing interesting at all is happening there. The film is content to have MacLeod faff about, basically killing time until his final battle with the Kurgan. We get a dull romantic subplot with the aformentioned sassy forensics expert/amateur reporter, and that's about it. The film's finale does carry some weight, but it's only because the Kurgan has set himself up so well as his arch enemy in the flashbacks; in the present day he's just a hammy villain. He goes from showing real menace to having a Frankenstein's monster look going on, mixed with biker attire for good measure. It's... odd.

This dichotomy is ultimately what lets the film down. Whenever it gathers momentum in the flashback scenes, it loses it when it suddenly cuts back to the boring present day. The transitions seem to come at awkward intervals, rarely giving the flashbacks the payoffs they deserve; The present day is given far too much time, and consequently the Scottish scenes not half enough. Connery in particular is very much underused, and the bromance with him and Lambert is way more interesting than the flat love interest back in New York, whose name I've forgotten already.

She never loved him like he did...

And we haven't even gotten to the accents yet. Lambert is a French actor putting on a hilariously bad Scottish accent, and Connery plays an Egyptian pretending to be a Spaniard. With a Scottish accent. The casting director must have been drunk that day I guess. Aside from that though, there's not much to really fault with the acting. The Kurgan is a hammy ball of ham, yes, but Lambert does pretty well in his role, convincingly showing the transition between a man who at first has come to terms with his immortality, to the tragic arc of having to see the woman he loves die of old age. The death scene of his wife Heather (Beatie Edney) is actually one of the highlights of the movie, surprisingly; it's remarkably touching, without being overwrought, and it shows well how MacLeod has become a more sullen character in the present day.

It's for this reason that the film is maddening. It has its share of genuinely good moments, and some good characterisation, but it's bookended with an extremely dull plot in the present, and the pacing is all over the place. It's a film that frustrates most of the time, but the moments that work help elevate it above the norm. On a whole, I give it a tentative recommendation: See it if you haven't already, but don't expect a classic. Without expecting too much, you may end up enjoying it a lot more. Also, bring a few beers to get you through the eighties, where everyone is a walking cliché.

Actually, if you ever find yourself sent back in time to the eighties, that'd be some sound advice.