MovieChat Forums > Highlander (1986) Discussion > Rate the Sequels

Rate the Sequels

posted 8 years ago by Jonthan22
2 replies | jump to latest

The first movie is a classic, love it. It is a little cheesy in places, but thats typical of 80's action movies.

The second was a joke. Its worth one watch just to laugh at it.
Connery was pretty funny in it, and even though the plot was silly, its passable enough to make it watchable, even if half the time you are sat there shaking your head at how lame and hilarious the plot is.

3 was a waste of time. A shameless re hash/copy of the original. It had one or two original ideas with the sorcery and whatnot, but Van Peebles tried to copy Clancy Browns performance as the Kurgan and it came off bad. Plus the whole idea of "Oh these immortals were buried, so he didn't actually win the prize" was pretty stupid.

End game however, whilst not being a very good movie in of itself, is by far the least inept of the sequels. The plot isn't too bad, the dialogue half decent, a few pretty decent fights (Mac vs Jin Ke), some decent flashbacks and it was pretty emotional at the end watching Connor give up his head to save his cousin. There were so many ways it could have been improved, the whole middle of the film, everything between Duncan and Connors graveyard meeting with Kell, and Connor and Duncans rooftop meeting, everything that happened between those two scenes was a waste of time, and the Kate/Faith Character was terrible, and the actress baaaaaad. Jacob Kell was a decent bad guy, if a little over acted at times by Bruce Payne (Bruce Payne has a repuatation for that, see Passenger 57).
But overall, the least bad of the Highlander sequels, it just needed more Connor in the middle of the movie, and less Duncan fretting over Kate/Faith, which was dull.

Which leaves the Source......Well...what can be said.
Where as Highlander 2 was laughably bad, and worth a watch for comedic value, The Source is painfully bad....almost insulting. Everything being almost post apocalyptic for some unexplained reason, Duncan stalking roof tops at the beginning like Batman to save the woman in distress, and the Guardian, christ on a bike....the hell were they thinking, a guy half dressed in S&M gear with his body painted white, making wise cracks (HELLO JOE!) like he has been watching too much MTV. Plot holes every where, having Methos shoe horned in to appease fanboys, the lame Queen covers in the soundtrack and just the overall plot were *beep* terrible. Definitely beats Highlander 2 as worst Highlander sequel. At least Highlander 2 had a few funny moments and a hot Virginia Madsen. The Source is pain incarnate and the script writer and everyone else involved should be executed for crimes against Humanity.

[–] Times_Up 8 years ago

The first movie is 80s fantasy/action classic. It does have some camp, particularly Kurgan, but Brown made Kurgan menacing anyway.

Quickening/Renegade is probably my favorite sequel as far as camp value goes. Ironside hams it up well and Connery was hilarious. Yes, it's a really, really bad and stupid film. Insulting even (hard to believe the same director and one of the same screenwriters are responsible for this?!?) It's a movie that has to be seen to be believed. I remember renting it for the first time in the mid to late 90s and going, um this is Highlander II, really? I was tempted to take the tape out and double check the label, but then the title Highlander II: The Quickening came on screen and I was like, ok this is it. Then comes the immortal (pun accidental) line "Remember your home highlander?" Mac goes, "O yes, I remember! 500 years ago on the planet Zeist!" WTF?!?!

Sorcerer/Final Dimension is probably my favorite sequel for it's content. In spite of the wasted opportunity of a film that could have been in the tv show continuity for requel, it's the only sequel that isn't a huge insult. It's lame Brenda is killed off (maybe Hart wouldn't return) just to have Mac go through the same reveal again, but it's campy fun and the flashbacks were pretty cool. Ignore the talk of the prize and it is just another adventure for Connor. The fight on the trapeze was pretty hilarious.

Endgame. This was the biggest waste of potential. Nothing makes sense. Tried to claim to be in tv series continuity but contradicted way too much to take that seriously. (Duncan was cursed to never marry!) Connor supposed to be tore up inside b/c he killed Kell's father who burned his mother do death! yea, I'd be real broken up about that. I know they were trying to make a story about honor (quite laughable when Jin Ke asks Mac "what do you know of honor?" after he just fought Duncan 5 on 1, LOL), but if that's the case, then you'd think Kell would be more understanding once he became immortal and saw the way mortals treat his kind. Nope, he's just a joker and a flamboyant one at that. He didn't care about the rules, so why should Connor and Duncan? The both of them have defeated much older and more powerful immortals in their series and films so the whole Kell is too strong from them alone makes no sense.

Source - Pee yeeew! This movie just makes me shake my head. This franchise has not one, but two of the worst films of all time! How is that even possible? I'll admit the 1st few minutes I thought maybe something interesting is gonna happen, then I spot the infamous Guardian lurking in the background and I'm like well this has kind of a horror film vibe. Suddenly he kills this other immortal and goes "quickening!" and drops to the ground signing "it's the end of time" to Duncan and I'm like WTF?!? Planets align to reveal the source of immortality rather than cause a bunch of earthquakes and sunamis and tear the world apart. Just some glowy spot with some steps and sand and a WWE looking clown (painted like one, actually) who sings and does accents and o never mind.

Ok, whatever, so what is the source? Don't know. They seek the Elder, who tells them some BS story about the Guardian and the Sorceress and we still don't know accept "you will get weaker and lose your immortality as you get closer". All but Duncan, b/c he is "pure of heart". Um, no he's not. He was once a member of a barbaric clan, killed for the M15 and claimed (thought the show never showed it) to have slaughtered innocent men in front of their families for revenge. (Not to mention he killed Ritchie!) In this very movie he was going to give up this quest b/c he didn't believe in it! He is not pure of heart dammit. Just like Endgame made Connor an unlikeable pouty POS, Methos is all butthurt b/c Mac is "the one" and he whines "I wanted it to be me!" so he just bitches the whole movie, a guy who never showed this kind of personality before. I guess it was all just orbital wobble?

Search For Vengeance - haven't seen since it came out, but remember liking it. Stand alone story more than sequel, but didn't insult the original. Don't remember if it really seemed much like Highlander though.

Reunion - short released online to make up for Source. Kind of like a sitcom group meeting at a friend's place. Did what neither Endgame or Source could do; give fans a taste of the characters the loved post-tv series without insulting its own mythology.

If I didn’t talk the way I talk I wouldn’t know who the hell I am, Sean Connery on his accent

[–] Tin Man-5 8 years ago

H2: Renegade was the best of the sequels. It was the only one with any interesting ideas -- an ancient society in which immortals lived amongst mortals openly, many of whom were banished into random points in the future by priests to keep Katana from winning the prize in their own time. I also like the idea of a post-Prize world in which Connor screwed up when he put it to use and now seeks redemption. These are COOL ideas in a visually stunning film. It's the script that ultimately fails. So much bad writing and half-baked ideas that are never explored. And Katana is a weak villain whose motivations make no sense. Still, among the sequels, it was never topped.

The Sorcerer was and rehash of the first film, so close in terms of plot, characters, and settings that if you've seen one, you don't need to see the other. Except, why would you choose 3 over the great original?!

Endgame was a mess. Mostly because the changes it made to the characters of Connor and Duncan were not improvements. Connor was depressed; Duncan was just whining throughout. It was impossible to root for either. And the plot had so many plot holes, and Kell was a crappy villain who could have been far more complex. Of all the sequels, this one is the most infuriating because it had the most potential to be interesting.

The original "Quickening" cut of H2 and The Source are about equal for me, at the bottom of the barrel. I mean.... WOW. I have no words for them. Just... look. God, look and grimace.