Review of Highlander (1986) by Sandie W — 07 Sep 2009

The moment that Queen's 'Princes of the Universe' you are prepared for a film made in bold, broad strokes.

The race-of-immortals-living-among-us storyline aims for epic but misses the mark. Too much mythic detail is left out, often resulting in quite a frustratingly confusing experience - Why can there be only one? Why will they be drawn to a gathering in NEw York? What is this 'prize' that Lambert receives at the end, simply omniscience? Tonally Highlander is a bit all over the place, with a few good dark moments (Clancy Brown's villain is often entertaining), mixed with what can only be described as slapstick - seeing Sean Connery (a Scot playing an Egyptian) dressed up like a rennaissance-era transvestite running gayly across a beach whilst shouting. Also hard to take seriously is the under-choreographed swordplay in the training montages - Director Russell Mulcahy seems to have put all his effort into finding stunning Scottish landscapes on which to have a sword fight, and has then forgotten too implement any kind of routine that doesn't just involve Connery swiping lazily from the left, then from the right.

Overall an entertainingly but clumsily unique film that deserves it's cult status because of how just how far it misses the mythic-saga mark it appears to be aiming for.