Five? They did FIVE?!
That was pretty much my reaction too. Pretty good going for a feature-length music video; four sequels, two-and-a-half spin-offs and a remake on the way. The HIGHLANDER franchise has been a less of a roller-coaster, and more a minecart plummetting further and deeper into the darkness, away from the light of anything resembling a decent bloody movie.
And yet, when I saw HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE, I freaking loved it. Though probably not for the reasons the filmmakers intended.
Let me say this first. The movie is BAD. Monumentally BAD. It’s not a good sequel, and it’s not a good film in its own right. It’s BAD in big ugly capital letters. It basically destroys the franchise and leaves it lying in ruins, and many, if not all, regard it as an abomination, an insult to cinema. And they’re right. And yet…
Here’s what there is of a plot. It’s basic apocalyptic fare: the world’s gone to pot – insanity, canibalism, religious mania, dogs and cats living together… the works. Also, the planets are aligning with the centre of the galaxy, and the entire cosmos is coming into alignment. Which even Sherlock would tell you is complete bollocks.
By the end of the film, you can see Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky, bigger than the moon, which is every single kind of impossible. But don’t worry, it gets worse.
The lead is Adrian Paul, as the dour, sullen, brooding and downright depressing Duncan MacLeod – pupil and kinsman of original Highlander Connor (Christopher Lambert). He has all the charm and vitality of a doornail and only seems to be there for the paycheque. At least Christopher Lambert has some kitsch value.
MacLeod is wandering the world moping, after his One True Love, Anna, upped and left for no good reason. In the meantime, there are three other Immortals – holdovers from the TV series but given no real introduction here; if you don’t know the series, then tough, because you don’t get any real introduction to these guys. They’re just there. But, since they’re pretty much stock characters anyway, it makes little odds.
Anyhoo, together with The Handsome Noble One, The Religious Nutcase and The Doomed Rookie, the Highlander and his One True Love set out to find the Source, taking them some distance (it’s never made very clear), and through a maniac-infested island and dull generic forests, all the while stalked by The Guardian. Which is even more incredible, given his size and (lack of) grace. The stakes are raised when the Immortals realise that as they get closer to the Source, they lose their immortality. Which sucks.
Arguably, the best thing about any HIGHLANDER film is the villain, cos they’re often way more interesting than the hero. That’s certainly the case in HIGHLANDER 5. Whether it’s intentional or not, the Guardian is frankly hilarious, running and spinning around the pokey sets or generic woodlands like an albino Tazmanian Devil, spouting monstrously bad one-liners and taunting our heroes with a rousing rendition of Queen’s “Who waaaants to liiive for-eh-vah…. WHO WAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNTS TO LIIIIIIIIIIIIVE FOR-EH-VAAAAAAAARRRR!”
It’s a massive mess of a movie. Very little of it makes sense, and the little that does trashes most of what the Highlander franchise set out in the first place. If anything, it’s a spiritual successor to HIGHLANDER 2. Which is another guilty pleasure of mine.
I’m not going to try to convince you it’s better than everyone says. It’s really not. But I will put my hand up and admit, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed ripping the piss out of the stupid pseudo science, the insane rock soundtrack, the WTF moments… it’s one of those bottom-of-the-bargain-barrel movies where I can sit back after a long day, kick off the boots and crack open a few beers, and laugh myself silly.
By the way, someone was kind enough to condense the entire movie in to five minutes. It loses nothing in terms of plot and showcases some of why I love this movie so.
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