HIGHLANDER: END GAME
Review by John Beachem
* * *
Directed by: Douglas Aarniokoski
Written by: Gillian Horvath, William Panzer, Joel Soisson
Let me warn you, this plot summary is only going to make sense to those of
you who have seen the television show. An immortal has broken the rules of
the game. Jacob Kell (Bruce Payne), considered by the watchers council to be
the most dangerous immortal alive, has killed on holy ground. Now Kell is
out to destroy the life of Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), the man who
killed his father centuries before. Kell's next target is Duncan Macleod
(Adrian Paul), Connor's best friend and kinsman. Kell leads a group of
immortals into battle (another rule which he broke), and one of them is
Duncan's ex-wife from two centuries prior. His wife, Faith (Lisa Barbuscia),
hates Duncan for having turned her into an immortal. She helps Kell because,
as she says, he's the only person she's met who is capable of the level of
hate she feels. Now Connor and Duncan have to find a way to stop the most
powerful immortal alive, before he wins the game and the prize. Yet Connor
knows that neither one of them is good enough to beat Kell on his own.
"Highlander: End Game" is one of those movies directed entirely at those who
faithfully followed the television series. If you've never seen the series,
you're in for a bumpy ride. In fact, if you've never seen the series, I'd
recommend avoiding this movie. You're not going to know who the watchers
are, or that there are now hundreds of immortals, or even who Duncan MacLeod
is. Okay, that warning out of the way, the rest of this review is directed
at those of you who have at least seen the television show once. I'm sorry
to say that "Highlander: End Game" plays as nothing more than a slightly
longer episode of the series. The effects are no more impressive, there have
been no great changes in the characters of the series, and the production
values are only slightly above those used in the show. Am I saying it has no
features to elevate it up the show? That's exactly what I'm saying. If
you've seen the show, you've seen the movie. If you enjoyed the show, you'll
most likely enjoy the movie.
Christopher Lambert may have found some success in the first "Highlander"
film, but that was back in 1986. Does anyone wonder why he hasn't found much
work since then? If you've seen any of his performances, you wouldn't
wonder. Lambert continues to display this lack of talent in "Highlander: End
Game", shamelessly overacting at every turn. Adrian Paul is another story.
While people may not know him from much besides the "Highlander" television
series, the man is not an untalented actor. It's unfortunate that the
dialogue in "Highlander: End Game" doesn't give him the chance to display
his full acting ability. There are only two other important performances in
the movie, and neither is much worth noting, but I'm going to note them
anyway (I'm irritating like that). Bruce Payne ("Warlock III") plays the
chief villain in such a gratingly over the top way, it will make your teeth
hurt just listening to him. Lisa Barbuscia ("Almost Heroes") isn't quite
that annoying as MacLeod's ex-wife, but she can't play the role requested of
her. Faith is supposed to hate MacLeod with every fiber of her being, but we
get the impression she just finds him vaguely annoying. Fans of the
television series will be happy to see Jim Byrnes and Peter Wingfield make
appearances as Joe Dawson and Methos, respectively. They'll be unhappy to
see that the two fan favorites have about ten minutes of screen time between
them.
The sad fact of the matter is, "Highlander: End Game" never should have made
it to the big screen. As a direct-to-video release or a made for tv movie,
the film would have worked quite well. Say what you will about "Highlander
2" (and don't get me wrong, it deserves all your slander and then some), but
at least it had the production values of a big studio release. As a major
motion picture, there are simply too many points against "Highlander: End
Game". The pacing is so poor you'd think a twelve year old had directed it;
the dialogue is bad, bordering on painful; the special effects could have
been done on a home computer; and like the previous sequels, this one just
doesn't fit in with the "Highlander" timeline. I've actually got a theory
about that - I think each "Highlander" movie is supposed to be an alternate
timeline. If you think about it, that's the only thing that makes sense
since each film destroys the entire mythos of the film or films preceding
it. I suppose there never should have been a sequel to begin with, since if
ever there was a film that didn't leave room for a sequel it was the first
"Highlander".
Now that I've stomped yet another film into the ground, I should probably
point out some of the movie's good aspects. The fight choreography (at least
in one scene) is really quite impressive. The character involved in that
scene, played by Donnie Yen ("Iron Monkey"), could have been a very
interesting character, but he is never developed . The soundtrack is quite
nice, being a lovely mixture of classical and Scottish music. However, I was
surprised to find that the traditional "Highlander" theme song by Queen is
missing. I have one quick, last question to all you "Highlander" fans out
there. How strong is the rule which says immortals cannot fight on holy
ground? I always took this more as a law than a rule, and if an immortal
broke it something horrible would happen to them. Yet the rule is thrown
right out the window in this latest film. "Highlander: End Game" runs a
quick 88 minutes. I'd recommend it to die-hard fans of the television
series, though even they might find the poor production values a bit
irritating. I give the movie three out of five stars.
Comments? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net
Past reviews can be found at:
http://www.epinions.com/user-elerad?public=yes or
http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year.
* * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one.
* * * - Okay movie, hits and misses.
* * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk.
* - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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