"There can be only one!" Catchphrase of the first Highlander movie.

"There should have been only one! I want my money back!" Cry of an irate fan after seeing the first sequel.

Connor McCleod, hero of the first three Highlander movies must team up with Duncan McCleod, hero of the Highlander television series, to defeat an immortal so powerful that neither can defeat him alone. But what good does teamwork do, even with two men who trust each other as much as Connor and Duncan, when they are forced by the rules Immortals live by to face their enemy one at a time�or are they?

I had heard that this film was bad, but instead I was pleasantly surprised at how good it really was. Christopher Lambert, who played Connor and Adrian Paul, who played Duncan, had a good chemistry together especially in the scenes dating back to the 17th century when Connor was Duncan's mentor in the way of the Immortals. The fun they obviously had together helped bring what would have otherwise been a bad film to a higher level. And, for fans of the series, there were some intriguing twists added to the mythos of the Highlander saga such as the concept of a Sanctuary for those Immortals weary of the constant battle they fight. Good use was also made of characters and events from the first, and best, of the Highlander films such as Connor's adopted mortal daughter and, from the television show, in the form of the Immortal's historians known as the Watchers.

That's the good news. The bad news is that while a few new things are added to the Highlander mythos, such as the concept of a Sanctuary, there's really little in Highlander: Endgame itself that had not already been covered in the Highlander television show. Which is a shame since fans of the series had hoped for something a little more impressive from a movie effort that brought together Connor and Duncan McCleod. The one original idea, an interesting moral question regarding the right of potential immortals to live out a normal life span as opposed to having their immortality forced upon them, was never developed into much more of a side issue. Nor were any of the secondary characters, some who had a great deal of potential, ever developed much beyond cardboard characters. None of the fight scenes were what they should have been either since the majority of the sword fights were sped up to make them look more impressive, or so I guess the director thought, but instead only made them look painfully staged. You would think that a movie in which one of the main components was sword fighting would take the time to get it right, but apparently not. Finally, while it would have been hard to approach the quality of the first film's soundtrack, performed by Queen, they could have certainly done better.

Unfortunately Highlander: Endgame appears to have been neither a financial nor critical success which will probably preclude, for the time being anyway, any further Highlander movies from being made. The saddest thing is that even though the original movie was not written with sequels in mind had the following films in the series been handled correctly, instead of being just thrown together, Highlander could have become a major franchise on the level with Alien or even Star Wars. After all, the first sequel, Highlander: The Return, was one of the worst films ever made in any genre, but despite this the series went on for two more films plus inspired a successful television version that in turn generated its own spin-off. So imagine what the Highlander movies could have been in the hands of writers and directors who truly cared about the series and it's fans. Maybe someday, if we all live long enough, pun intended, we'll get a chance to find out.

In the meantime, don't lose your head over Highlander: Endgame, because it's not a great movie, but it is worth seeing.

Grade: B

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