Review of Highlander (1986) by Melodicvirus — 20 Nov 2022

A farseeing conquest full of charm and peril, Highlander is a film that doesn't attempt to take itself too seriously - and for that reason works incredibly well as an homage to traditional fantasy / swashbuckler movies.

The concept of a man who is immortal, and lives across the span of several time periods, is an interesting one. And I would've loved to have seen more of it, but much of the film takes place between 16th century Scotland and a contemporary New York setting. I especially enjoyed the scenes between Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery's characters. You can tell that both stars had a good connection with each other both on and off-stage. Much of the film's strong points can be found with scenes featuring these two.

This film was not without flaws, and there's quite a few to mention. I personally found Christopher Lambert's attempt at a Scottish accent to be unconvincing, and the villain portrayed by Clancy Brown was almost cartoonish with no real incentive to commit bad deeds other than because he can. Despite these characters becoming spiritually old and wiser, their attitudes and personalities never seem to change all that much.

Highlander also has a tendency to introduce certain characters and plot points only to never really focus on them all that much, presumably to pad out the runtime of this admittedly basic plotline. I'd reckon that this film would've been more successful if it was presented as a one-off miniseries as opposed to a full-feature film.

Personally, I recommend this film to those who enjoy swashbuckler or adventure films.