Highlander
Published 2009-08-20
Film info
- Title Highlander
- Director Russell Mulcahy
- Year 1986
- Run time 1hr 51m
- Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Action
- Tagline There can be only one
- Cast Sean Connery
Conner McLeod survives a wound that should kill him in a clan battle in the Scottish Highlands in 1536, and is banished from his village. Years later McLeod is met by Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, a swordsman who teaches McLeod the truth about himself; he is immortal, one of a race of many who can only die when the head is cut from the body. When one immortal takes the head of another, the loser’s power is absorbed into the winner. Ramirez teaches McLeod the ways of the sword, until he is killed by his gravest foe, the evil Kurgan who lusts for the ultimate power of the immortals, The Prize; enough power to rule the earth forever. McLeod must fight his way through the centuries until the time of the Gathering, when the few immortals who have survived the ages will come together to fight until only one remains.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:32 | Queen theme tune equals good film, no matter what happens. |
| 3:55 | I don't think wrestling really compares to a full scale field battle. One of them involves swords for a start! |
| 5:24 | That man seems like a pre-cursor to Agent Smith. He appeared out of nowhere, smartly dressed, and wears sunglasses. |
| 7:30 | Surely it's easier to run around than to backflip around? More fun, though, I bet. |
| 8:14 | How long do fire sprinklers go on for? They'll have a swimming pool rather than a car park soon. |
| 11:20 | What accent is that supposed to be? |
| 13:45 | Did they really have people wondering about playing the bagpipes whilst everyone else was fighting? |
| 16:16 | I don't know why I think I like this film. I really have very little clue what's going on. |
| 18:00 | I just realised that's Celia Imrie! I had no idea. |
| 23:58 | That's one heck of a sword. I didn't know they came in bits, though, like lego. Seems like the end would fall off if you flailed it around too much. |
| 32:11 | The weird thing about his accent is that it's even weird when he's in Scotland, his homeland. I get that he might have lost it from travelling around a lot, but he talked funny right from the start. |
| 41:44 | And whilst we're talking about accents - the Spanish/Egyptian man does actually have a Scottish accent. I'm so confused! |
| 44:35 | I wonder why Mr Connery is keen on teaching our Highlander the ropes when eventually they'd be against each other. |
| 53:38 | Oooh, you can knock down castle walls in a sword fight? I wonder why they were so popular back in those days! |
| 56:25 | Where _was_ the Highlander whilst Sean got his head chopped off? |
| 1:10:36 | Isn't he in Holby City? |
| 1:13:22 | It makes me mildly uncomfortable to see the bad guy with one full sleeve and one bare arm. How oddly one-sided. |
| 1:31:20 | Is there something about being immortal that makes him attractive? Because I don't see it. |
| 1:43:04 | Rubbish attempt at a one-liner. "What kept you?" Hardly Bruce Willis, is he? |
| 1:48:04 | So, is the prize that he is no longer immortal, and gets to live a normal life, but still has special powers? |
Thoughts
I have seen this once, a long while ago, and I remember very little about it. I feel like I should like it because it has Queen songs and involves transcending time which is on a par with time travel.
Perhaps I don't like this film as much as I thought I did. The Queen music is awesome, obviously. But the sword fights are laboured, the accents are annoying, and it doesn't really make sense. The gathering, the quickening, the prize, it's all nonsense! Still, Queen!
Rating: 2 / 5
