Highlander

Oh dear... What did I used to like about this? I remembered that Lambert and Connery were in it, and I thought it was really cool how they cut each other's heads off and got their energy back, but that's really all that makes this movie interesting... My rating of 50% is more out of nostalgia, because this doesn't appeal to me now. (12/05/2015)

To be honest, 2 stars are perhaps too luxurious a gift for a B-movie with a terrible screenplay and clumsy acting performances, but I will be accommodating today and will appreciate primarily the atmospheric music of my favorite Queen, led by Mercury, and a few impressive flashbacks to medieval Scotland. Nothing else holds up today, even though it is evident that this title greatly elevates the nostalgia of older users and the conformism of younger ones. Overall impression: 40%. (08/15/2015)

I am almost surprised that Highlander is not based on any book. I can imagine it as an 800-page sprawling fantasy, which later became a film adaptation, which is simplified and stripped down, but still a stylishly effective B-movie ride. Highlander combines epicness, destiny, romance, and is amazingly intense, serious and light-hearted, but above all, royally entertaining. Christopher Lambert is a terrible wooden actor, but his awkward acting gradually captivates you. One of the brightest moments is of course the presence of the pure Scotsman Sean Connery, paradoxically portraying an Egyptian from Spain here. His Ramirez is soon overshadowed by the main show-stealer of the whole film, the sensational villain Kurgan played by Clancy Brown - whenever he appeared on the scene, it was always worth it. I had Highlander in my collection for a long time and I finally got to watch it after returning home from a vacation around Scotland, where I also visited the beautiful Eilean Donan castle, which appears in the first third of the film. Although I slightly exaggerate, my impression of the film is definitely not influenced by nostalgia and echoes of the just-ended vacation in the Scottish Highlands. Highlander would captivate me anyway, it combines everything I expect from such films, and adds something extra - notably clever editing, excellent camera work, and of course the divine soundtrack by Queen. Watching Highlander is simply kind of magic! (09/16/2019)

The band Queen playing in the background tells you everything you need to know about this movie. Highlander is the cinematic equivalent of 80s stadium rock, where monumentality is the alpha and effect is the omega. Almost all of the scenes here are subservient to that mindset and therefore for the most part make no sense, are ridiculously bloated, but impossible to take your eyes off of. Mulcahy's visual creativity here is incredible; indeed, some of the special effects and camerawork in Highlander were even patented. The cinematographer probably only took the steadycam off when he went to bed at night, yet he couldn't be allowed much in the way of freedom of movement due to the harsh close-up lighting of so many of the scenes. Mulcahy's magnum opus deceives you from the beginning with its focus and presentation of cinematic mythology, which creates the illusion of an elaborate inner world. But the second half thankfully makes clear why it was filmed in the first place – so a sleazy biker with a folding sword and a neck sewn up with safety pins can roam New York City while the hero sits in an abandoned bar with such harsh light coming through the blinds that there must have been at minimum a nuclear explosion outside. After that, the most surprising thing about the defining cult film of the 80s was how much of a showcase camp it was. With a group of people with beers in hand, you're in for a truly amazingly awful experience, which still doesn’t stop you from genuinely enjoying the film. Every, truly every scene contains some element that has you out of your seat laughing at it. Good-naturedly and enthusiastically. Everyone gets to pick their favorite. My favorite is unquestionably the one where one of the characters invites the protagonist home, tells him to tend bar for the time being, and he expertly opens a bottle of 1783 Hennessy for her. Lmao. (11/09/2020)

An interesting and original plot plus solid technical execution, those are the main strengths of Highlander. The story is well presented and full of mystery, the flashbacks to the past are very intriguing, the music is captivating and, oddly enough, Queen's famous song fit perfectly here. And that's what the viewer needs and expects from a film of this type. At least that's how it was for me. It's also worth mentioning Sean Connery and the demonic Kurgan portrayed by Clancy Brown. (12/21/2005)