Highlander (1986) Review

 

Highlander (1986)

Highlander follows Connor Macleod, an immortal Scottish warrior who must face off against the ruthless Kurgan, for there can only be one, in a battle that spans centuries.

Highlander is one of those movies that you’re kidding yourself if you think it’s good because it’s very much not. Enjoyable? Yes. Good? Absolutely not (and this is coming from a loyal fan of this movie). As I’m writing this review, I’m actually finding it hard to find any positives, only drawing on the many, many negatives. And yet, I still like it, mainly for it’s concept. The whole immortal swordsmen, battling it out throughout history for “the prize” has always appealed to me. On screen however, we get clunky sword battles, between cheesy and downright awful acting, and an undersold past setting that never really offers much outside of the training with Ramirez. And while we’re on the topic of Ramirez, half of this movie is set in Scotland, and yet not a single soul in the cast is Scottish except for one person—Sean Connery, who plays a Spaniard!

I feel like I also must mention the terrific soundtrack by Queen, which has no reason to be as good as it is, always taking otherwise dull scenes and giving them just enough push to come off as great.

I’d say a lot of the draw here is surprisingly in it’s modern day setting however, which sees Macleod aka Nash actually seem super cool for once. He comes off rather lame in the Scotland era, which is the opposite for the Kurgan, who is frighteningly great in the past but ridiculously foul in the modern day.

We get a decent cast, featuring Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney, Sean Connery, and Christopher Lambert. Lambert is such a perplexing lead because his demeanor is so dark and brooding, yet every time he talks, it’s like a child letting out their first words (and don’t get me started on his French accent occasionally popping up when he speaks). Connery, as always though, is the best part of this weirdly fun train wreck, with his admirable swagger standing out above a cast that always seems so shy.

Highlander, directed by Russel Mulcahy, brings an excellent concept and rather great visuals and special effects, but lacks any real direction or stand out performances from its stars, leaving this a fun and rewatchable crapshoot.

Still amazed this spawned 5 sequels and a TV show.

5.8/10