HIGHLANDER - ENDGAME
  
STARRING:
Christopher Lambert, Adrian Paul, Bruce Payne, Lisa Barbuscia, Jim
Byrnes
2000, 88 Minutes, Directed by: Douglas Aarniokoski
 Description:
This is the "torch-passing" chapter, in
which the Immortal Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) passes his life
force to his heroic brother, Duncan (Adrian Paul, star of the 1993-96
Highlander TV series). —
Amazon.com
Although
I am a huge fan of Highlander, I would certainly be the
first to state that the franchise's producers and writers have made more than their
share of God-awful mistakes with what was, at one time, a really good piece
of work.
Stunned I
watched the series wash
away in a mess of plot holes and far-fetched, spineless ideas, as well as
poor acting and production values with Highlander II -
The Quickening. With Highlander III it mutated into some sort of
desperate attempt to milk fans for all they're worth. It became like a
disease, like a wound that just got bigger and bigger with each sweep of
those swords.
Here, is the bandage.
Endgame
is the first Highlander motion picture to feature Adrian
Paul from the TV series. Other
appearances by main
characters from the TV series also include actor Jim Byrnes as a member
of the secret Watcher organization, and Methos (Peter Wingfield), a 5,000
year old immortal. Faces we run across from the original film include Connor's first love from back in the
1500s and the war orphan Connor took under his wing as a little girl.
Now, there is very little I can say about the plot without giving
something away, as it is all interconnected like a series of dominos.
Needless to say, it is still good versus evil, with good being ever so
likable and thoughtful, and evil flashing its savage hate at every
opportunity. Take heads, feel the quickening, and move on - until we have
only one. Luckily, with a dose of depth this time.
Some interesting gimmicks
are used
to resurrect the Highlander tale. Fans of the series can comfortably grin with
the two main protagonists, and the sweep of the film
takes us alongside them both in their journey through time. (Endgame's
transition techniques are more similar to the TV series than the original
movie, meaning they tend to be a bit flat at times.)
They made another
Highlander film managing to stay true to the original. What had to be done with
the franchise was done here, and although we might
regret some of points of finality that come at us in the end, we can go away
knowing this was all perfectly right somehow.
Of course, now we stumble upon the big problem with Endgame.
People going to see this movie without any knowledge of the Highlander
TV series or the original film will
be lost.
Fans, on the other hand, will love it!
- Caspar Ryan
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