A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Highlander: Endgame

Date Viewed: 9/3/00

Details:

Adrian Paul

Christopher Lambert

Bruce Payne

Lisa Barbuscia

Director: Douglas Aarniokoski

Score: 1/2

The Review: If you liked the first Highlander (1986), and hated the second Highlander movie (1991), and thought the third Highlander movie (1994) was OK, the odds are you (like me) will like this, the last Highlander. It is not as novel, nor as tightly (nor cleverly) edited as the first, and it reuses several recognizable characters along with, probably, original film stock. On the other hand, if you are not familiar with Gregory Widen's characters, nor with the content and philosophy (such that there is) of the original Highlander, then this movie will make absolutely no sense, and seem mere plotless carnage. But there is a plot, albeit tenuous.

As you may notice from the cast, this is a fusion of the original movie Highlander (Lambert, as Conner MacLeod) and the TV Highlander series (Paul, as Duncan MacLeod). As a consequence, there are Watchers (absent from the movie versions), and many flashbacks to events in Conner's life (absent from the TV series). To purists of either stripe (who followed either format but not both), this will make things confusing.

We learn more nuances of immortal lore: being an immortal requires a specific catalyst in addition to a random biological mutation; the nature of the catalyst to create an immortal; an immortal can be trained to recognize another proto-immortal; the identity and nature of Sanctuary; and so on. Nice touches for an enthusiast, but probably endlessly pedantic for anyone else.

For an immortal, Lambert's Conner is beginning to look really really old; perhaps this is a plot device? Probably not; stop already!

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