There are no bad movies...
When it comes to watching movies and films, Matthew and I have the philosophy “There are no bad movies, only movies you don’t like.” I was challenged on this in a recent thread on a Facebook group when one participant posted a comment about the movie FIREBIRD 2015 AD and he laid into it. There was one immediate reply before mine to which the person made the response “I liked it.” I made my comment and the original poster replied directly to me “This movie will test your faith in that!” Well, I have seen it, long long ago in the day and age of video tape rentals, and the comment before me proved my point. “You don’t like it. Mr. X before me liked it...he doesn’t think it’s a bad movie.” There is always somebody out there that finds something enjoyable in a movie you might think is bad. So, basically, you didn’t like the movie because it didn’t fit your tastes. There are amazing movies out there that will have people question your tastes. But the fact is...it isn’t a bad movie. It all comes down to personal opinion and tastes.
Why do I talk about all this first? Well, I am going to talk about a movie I do not like. But that is merely my opinion and someplace out there, somebody likes this movie. I will even say, though, I have this movie in my collection. With that in mind, I will do my best to bring to you my best observations instead of providing opinion with no merit or thought. And I don’t really think of my comments on a movie as a review at all. Rather, my half of a good discussion.
The subject of this article is HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE.
The first HIGHLANDER was released in 1986 starring Christopher Lambert as Conner MacLeod, Sean Connery as Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramierz, and Clancy Brown as The Kurgan. Bringing to us a fantasy world where immortals exist in secrecy that have been battling through the ages so that the final surviving Immortal, coining the phrase “There can be only one”, wins the mysterious “Prize”. The only explanation as to who or what these Immortals are and where they came from being “It’s a kind of magic.” Some of that magic was The Quickening an Immortal would experience upon removing the head of their opponent that would transfer life energies, experiences and skills to the winner. It also connected an Immortal to nature demonstrated when Ramirez was teaching MacLeod about the Quickening and they gained strength and speed of a stag that was close by resulting in their ability to run faster than a normal person. Sadly, this aspect has been lost in all further presentations. Oddly enough, as connected to nature as immortals could be, one detriment was they could never have children.
HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING was released in 1991, starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery again but presenting Virginia Madsen as the love interest and and Michael Ironside as the bad guy. First presented to try to explain those factors with Immortals were people from a planet called Zeist where they were mortal, exiled to Earth where they became Immortal to fight each other to become mortal again and be pardoned of whatever crimes had them banished to Earth. This movie did away with most of the plot points of the first HIGHLANDER, changed the concept of what The Quickening was, changed the relationship between MacLeod and Ramirez and, overall, really laid waste to everything that made the first movie great. There was a re-edit and recut and re-release on DVD called HIGHLANDER: THE RENEGADE VERSION That was much better, presented footage that was in the original UK release of the movie that regained some continuity and all the references to the planet Zeist were removed.
HIGHLANDER III was released in 2000 with the secondary title THE FINAL DIMENSION but final release as THE SORCERER. Christopher Lamber reprises his role as MacLeod and the new Immortal villain is played by Mario Van Peebles.
HIGHLANDER IV: ENDGAME is released in 2000 and is a bridge between the HIGHLANDER movies with Christopher Lambert and the now popular HIGHLANDER TV series starring Adian Paul. Adrian Paul brings his experience as an accomplished martial artist and swordsman to the production in the franchise that has made the successful jump from the theatre screen, to the home screen, and back to the theatre screen. This is best demonstrated in an amazing display of martial arts expertise between himself and Donny Yen which is really a huge save to this movie. Bruce Payne plays the primary antagonist, Jacob Kell.
Finally, we come to HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE in 2007 released directly to video and TV. This movie makes the second attempt to provide explanation as to who the first immortal was and what these Immortals are, what gives them their immortality and what the prize is or may be and what The Quickening is. Sadly enough, it doesn’t as it takes you on a confusing trek with our fearless immortal heroes and one mortal woman that is some kind of key to it all that Duncan MacLeod somehow got pregnant.
So, what happens....
The movie opens with a female voice-over reminding us of the 3 rules of being Immortal...There can be only 1, don’t lose your head, and you can’t have children. It is sometime in the future is the time setting. It isn't too far because Joe Dawson, a mortal Watcher and friend to Duncan introduced in the TV series, is still alive. Apparently, the world is in collapse and chaos due to reasons never given. Duncan “isn’t the man he used to be” for a loosely given explanation he revealed to his latest love that he is immortal and she didn’t think he would love her as she aged and died. That woman and the voice of are the same, Anna Teshemka, played by Thekla Reutan. Anna is not an Immortal but has some kind of psychic link and key in finding The Source. Duncan has taken to roaming the streets via rooftops ala Dark Knight or Daredevil.
The Source is supposed to be what gives Immortals their immortality and everything else that goes with it. The Source is a combination of extensive celestial body alignments and a specific earthbound location. Nobody knows where it is or anything more than that and it all seems to be more myth and legend to even the Immortals than anything real. If a group of Immortals search for it, their immortality becomes weaker and weaker as they get closer. Proximity to The Source also creates conflict within the group (it seems only groups search for The Source) and they eventually turn against each other so that only one ends up reaching The Source.
Except for Methos. Peter Wingfield reprises his role as Methos from the TV series as one of the oldest of Immortals at over 5000 years old or at least that is as old as he can be traced back to being.
The only other character within the story to know about The Source is The Guardian who, you guessed it, guards The Source. The Guardian is played by Cristian Solimeno who has also been in such shows as Argento’s MOTHER OF TEARS. The Guardian is more than a guardian as he goes out of his way, really, to protect the secret of The Source and anybody trying to locate it by killing them or taking their head as necessary. The Guardian is also an Immortal with a decidedly darker edge. I wouldn’t call him evil like, say, The Kurgan, but more of...a real asshole. His appearance is pale to the point of being albino with a couple areas that have big sheets of skin coming off as he is supposed to be “decaying”, has extended knowledge of everybody and is just killing anybody. Methos and The Guardian were once part of a group of Immortals searching for The Source. The others fought and leaving only one to reach The Source to fight a Guardian and becoming that Guardian’s successor. In this case, though, there were two. At the beginning, his appearance is also altered with CGI...they make his mouth pucker up like...well..an asshole...that never happens through the rest of the movie. The only other thing is he can move really fast.
The Elder, played by Patrie Naiambana, was one of the group that managed to make it to The Source. In the battle with the previous Guardian, he was caught between the energies of The Source and the Quickening from The Guardian and earned some of that positions distasteful qualities...slowly rotting away. He doesn’t have little sheets of skin coming off, he has become quite blobby and gelatinous and it is like only his epidermis is holding everything into some kind of cohesive mess. Think of Pearl from Blade (1998) but less farty and more droopy.
Jim Byrnes as Joe Dawson makes an appearance and is killed by The Guardian...which angers Duncan.
A couple other minor characters; Stephen Wight as Reggie, a “younger” immortal, pretty sure he started life as a cabin-boy on a pirate ship, and the impetuous type to provide the jump the gun aspect like Ritchie....but less likeable. Thom Fell as Cardinal Giovanni, a priest with the most GOD-AWFUL hair style in any century. These 2 really just took up a lot of screen time that just didn’t need to be there. Reggie gets all slashed by The Guardian a dies a death of a thousand cuts style death while the Cardinal just buggers off.
The only other character of any kind of merit is Zai Jie at the very beginning, played by Stephen Rahman Hughes. He has found an office with secret data on a celestial alignment and The Source to help find The Source. Nothing is spoken of this organization looking for The Source. The opening does hold one two decent fight scenes if only for the character f Zai Jie.
The second fight scene that is noteworthy is in a shipyard and Duncan performs some moves reminiscent of Jin Ke’s style from Highlander Endgame. Everybody else seems to just be flailing their swords about in comparison as they take on a gang terrorizing some other inconsequential character. This is pretty synonymous with the entire story. It was a bad idea to try to define The Source and make it about some supreme and incredible galactic alignment...that has to be focused through a mortal woman like Anna...and then there are steps it looks like...to ascend on for the final prize? Who knows.
Duncan defeats The Guardian by not killing him. but doesn’t become the new Guardian. The Guardian dissipates into energy fed back into the universe?
Presumably, Duncan and Anna get back together....because their child was a “gift” from The Source.
Ok, so, this was an example of a story with so many rewrites and the original writer leaves and their whole concept disappears and people take over that think all people want to see is Highlanders cutting heads off and sword fights. Nothing of any kind of story has to make sense, just give excuse to see sword fights. The fact that 2 immortal rules are broken, Immortals cannot fight on holy ground and Immortals cannot have children, doesn’t matter. Even the idea of trying to explain what The Source was and who the first Immortal was and what The Quickening is got so lost in this story that it is, as much as I hate referencing the word canon, it Is canonically regarded that Duncan had a bad dream. If you go into this movie with the forethought this is Duncan MacLeod after a bad bit of haggis, then it all makes sense. Then it isn’t so bad at all because it does reach down into what an Immortal such as Duncan might think, worry, and be concerned about and fear. If you know anything about dreams, and I know lots about weird dreams, then this all makes sense.
So, don’t go into this movie expecting anything like the previous Highlander movies OR previous Highlander TV shows.
Don’t go into this movie expecting something good.
But, do go into this movie with the idea we are taking a journey into Duncan’s head for a bad dream and, suddenly, it isn’t so bad.
I think, from that standpoint, a good takeaway is don’t always look at something as it appears. Always take a look at something for it’s own merit and what it might be. There can be more than one.
Watch the trailer....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBaz3rvTCpc
Or
Take a chance and watch the movie...
With Greek subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdOSArLfnEE
