Review of 'Highlander: The Director's Cut'

In the world of the 1980s immortals continue their age-long battle to become “the one” - The last of their kind who will receive great power. The immortals can only be killed when their heads are removed from their bodies so they go around carrying swords and taking swings at one another. Here we follow Connor MacLeod (played by Christopher Lambert in his first English language role), from the medieval clan MacLeod. In a flashback we learn how he is shunned by his clan when he is proven to be immortal then taken under the wing of an eccentric Spaniard Ramirez (Sean Connery) who is determined to prepare Connor for an immortal life. Despite being cautioned by Ramirez against it, Connor falls in love only to see his love die while he lives on. In the present day the immortal and deeply twisted Kurgan (Clancy Brown) seeks out Connor in a bid to become “the one”, will Connor rise to the challenge or is he more interested in chasing woman…

Gotta love that Queen music…A classic of the genre (though not in a good way) and never really even approached in originality and quality in the numerous sequels (and television show). Sean Connery is a wonderful tutor to our hero but ultimately this is a bit of cheesy 80s kitch with hackneyed dialog and special effects that even in the time it was filmed were cheap and most times unconvincing. Lambert's performance is adequate but shows no sense of depth to the character with an unusual accent to boot. The sets all look, well, like sets and even the set action pieces do not entirely convince. Shame, as the story is reasonably interesting if not more than a bit difficult to swallow particularly with no explanation of why or how immortality is achieved and no hint of any sort of community amongst the immortals.

Ultimately unsatisfying second-rate 80s SF.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2019-06-22

Directed by: Russell Mulcahy

Studio: Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment

Year: 1986

Length: 116 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091203/