Highlander

An interesting and original plot plus solid technical execution, those are the main strengths of Highlander. The story is well presented and full of mystery, the flashbacks to the past are very intriguing, the music is captivating and, oddly enough, Queen's famous song fit perfectly here. And that's what the viewer needs and expects from a film of this type. At least that's how it was for me. It's also worth mentioning Sean Connery and the demonic Kurgan portrayed by Clancy Brown. (2005-12-21)

A classic mainstream adventure with a perfect cast, impressive production design and a great premise, which, however, also became a stumbling block. It’s one thing to play with ideas of immortality and jump from the 16th century to the present day with a snap of the fingers, and something else is to tell a story detached from emotions, with clumsy effects and highlights in the form of static sword fights. Lambert is excellent in one of his few major roles, the music of Queen is fantastic and Connery is downright iconic. With a more elaborate and imaginative script, a remake should be a safe bet. 3.5* (2013-07-29)

The band Queen playing in the background tells you everything you need to know about this movie. Highlander is the cinematic equivalent of 80s stadium rock, where monumentality is the alpha and effect is the omega. Almost all of the scenes here are subservient to that mindset and therefore for the most part make no sense, are ridiculously bloated, but impossible to take your eyes off of. Mulcahy's visual creativity here is incredible; indeed, some of the special effects and camerawork in Highlander were even patented. The cinematographer probably only took the steadycam off when he went to bed at night, yet he couldn't be allowed much in the way of freedom of movement due to the harsh close-up lighting of so many of the scenes. Mulcahy's magnum opus deceives you from the beginning with its focus and presentation of cinematic mythology, which creates the illusion of an elaborate inner world. But the second half thankfully makes clear why it was filmed in the first place – so a sleazy biker with a folding sword and a neck sewn up with safety pins can roam New York City while the hero sits in an abandoned bar with such harsh light coming through the blinds that there must have been at minimum a nuclear explosion outside. After that, the most surprising thing about the defining cult film of the 80s was how much of a showcase camp it was. With a group of people with beers in hand, you're in for a truly amazingly awful experience, which still doesn’t stop you from genuinely enjoying the film. Every, truly every scene contains some element that has you out of your seat laughing at it. Good-naturedly and enthusiastically. Everyone gets to pick their favorite. My favorite is unquestionably the one where one of the characters invites the protagonist home, tells him to tend bar for the time being, and he expertly opens a bottle of 1783 Hennessy for her. Lmao. (2020-11-09)

A nice start to an even better fandom. Today, it’s an old hit, which I return to regularly, although I found it almost unwatchable after the year 2000. There's no point in addressing which formal aspects have aged and which haven't, or that the perfect happy ending virtually eliminated the possibility of a sequel. There are sequels and not all the ideas are bad. Queen's great soundtrack also helped a lot and of course so did the cast. "In the end, there can be only one." (2009-02-16)

To be honest, 2 stars are perhaps too luxurious a gift for a B-movie with a terrible screenplay and clumsy acting performances, but I will be accommodating today and will appreciate primarily the atmospheric music of my favorite Queen, led by Mercury, and a few impressive flashbacks to medieval Scotland. Nothing else holds up today, even though it is evident that this title greatly elevates the nostalgia of older users and the conformism of younger ones. Overall impression: 40%. (2015-08-15)