Highlander Movie Review

Action-fantasy about ‘immortals,’ a race of, well, immortals (spontaneously born to ordinary folk) who must meet in battle down through the centuries, decapitating each other – the only way to kill one – until the last survivor inherits their accumulated power. Christopher Lambert is 16th-century Scotsman Connor MacLeod, whose feud with an equally ageless foe comes to blows in modern Manhattan. Sean Connery makes a memorable appearance as MacLeod's mentor, but the real energy comes from spectacular swordfights and death scenes, plus a glam-rock lyricism thanks to musical inserts by Queen. A cult fave for Russell Mulcahy's flashy visual style, this spawned weak sequels (which more or less jettisoned the already loose logic of the original), and inspired both animated live-action TV spinoffs (bits of the TV series were re-edited into the feature Highlander: The Gathering). Different versions of the original exist on laserdisc imports, with more extensive flashbacks throughout world history.

1986 (R) 110m/C Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney, Alan North, Sheila Gish, Jon Polito; D: Russell Mulcahy; W: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, Larry Ferguson; M: Michael Kamen. VHS, Beta, LV REP