Highlander: Endgame (2000)

the audience applauded

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

In the 90's, Highlander fans had split into 2 camps; those who loved the movie, and those who loved the TV series. The TV series retconned the movies and took things in a different direction with a different character: Connor's cousin, Duncan. This meant there were two Highlanders, and two fan bases that saw the same movie differently. It raised the usual fan question of who would win in a fight. In this case, Connor or Duncan? The best thing I can say is how much attention it gave the original movie. It uses the same flashback style that the original used, and even used the same cast (somehow Rachel and Heather had not aged a day, making you wonder who the real immortal is). This time, the flashbacks tell a different story than the first, the story of Connor's time with Duncan and their travels together. The flashbacks are definitely the most interesting part of this movie.The villain, though, is not particularly interesting. Bruce Payne plays a fallen priest who is immortal, who is intent on breaking the rules of The Game. It brings up a big question: if a couple of immortals just decided they could ignore the rules, why has it taken them so long to band up and kill the others? The character's story in the flashbacks contrast with his modern appearance - he stops being a believable character and becomes more cartoonish. He is surrounded by thugs, any of which would have been a more compelling nemesis. It also makes you wonder what is so special about Glenfinnan that is produces more immortals than anywhere else in the world.Does the movie resolve the rift between fans? Well, it tries. But it also retcons the central plot to the first movie: The Gathering. It never happened. Connor is at home in the flashbacks, but in the modern scenes acts like he really don't want to be there. Endgame is really an ending to the TV series that connects it to the original movie, and telling it from the perspectives of both characters. This is Duncan's movie, as Connor is removed for periods of time.Honestly, if the modern scenes were cut from this movie completely, it would actually be a good Highlander film.

Highlander 4: Endgame (2000): Dir: Douglas Aarniokoski / Cast: Christopher Lambert, Adrian Paul, Bruce Payne, Lisa Barbuscia, Donnie Yen: Moronic adventure that jumps from Italy, Ireland, Scotland, New York, London, and Disneyland. It hints on a plot but bludgeons viewers with production values. If you find your attention wandering over to the wall to observe paint drying, then do not be surprised. The title makes no sense because there is no game to end. It is just unfortunate that the film doesn't end sooner. Story focuses on the immortals who are said to be living eternity. Christopher Lambert is again featured as Connor Macleod whose time seems to be up. Bruce Payne beheads other immortals and possesses their power. MacLeod is training his brother Duncan for a showdown he cannot avoid. He is plagued with the reality that he married a woman and forced her into immortality without her consent. Fine setup marred by pointless action and violence. Director Douglas Aarniokoski is aided by fine production but unfortunately the script is about as useful as toilet paper and should be jammed up someone's ass. Fine work by Lambert but Adrian Paul as Duncan renders the best performance. Payne overacts just as he did in that stupid Dungeons and Dragons movie. Pointless cinematic scrap that should end the game before viewers pass out. Score: 4 / 10

I did enjoy the original Highlander. My brother watched it and enjoyed it and asked me to watch it after that. Then I wanted to watch Highlander 2 because I heard it's crap and sometimes that could be just what people need in movie watching (strange?... I know). My brother ended up watching ALL the Highlander sequels and told me that this one was quite clearly the best sequel.For starters this movie is not really what I call perfect. The Watchers didn't make any sense to me. I'm sorry but I really don't see the point in them. Maybe I have to watch the TV Series to make sense of them. Especially when they say the villain is a "rogue".The plot of this movie is actually very good. The plot is that Duncan MacCleod finds out that his brother Connor has had a man with a 400 year old grudge against him. They decide to team up and kill him. It may sound simplistic but it is executed better than any of the other live action Highlander sequels.I did enjoy the character development of this movie. I really enjoyed the part where Duncan has to kill Connor in order for Duncan to gain enough strength to fight Jacob Kell (The antagonist). That part would have to be my favourite part out of this whole movie.So this movie does leave a lot of unanswered questions (like how immortals are still running around for starters) but I am sure that the TV Show will clear everything up. If you want to watch a good continuation of Highlander then I will suggest this to you.

HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME is the worst HIGHLANDER film yet, and that's saying something considering the quality of the second and third film in this series. The main problem is that this film has the unwieldy task of tying together both the film and TV series, two entirely different beasts that just don't gel. The resultant film feels like a television movie or a longer episode of the series with Christopher Lambert in an extended cameo role.It's hard to know what hurts this film more: the derivative script or the pitifully low budget. Certainly the dialogue is stale and the characters boring, with the storyline content to rehash tired concepts and formulas instead of bringing anything new to the table. Unsurprisingly it's Lambert's last appearance in the chronology, and you have to feel for him here: he's looking old and tired, his wind stolen by an actor who's both younger and better looking. Adrian Paul is okay, but speaking from the point of view of somebody who's never seen him act before he didn't really impress.The story jolts from one historical flashback to the next, throwing in some cheesy bedroom sequences en route as well as the requisite number of swordfighting sequences. Bruce Payne pops up as – surprise, surprise – the bad guy, and he's really slumming it here, never really getting the chance to shine as the evil immortal madman that he plays. It's also slightly embarrassing to see Donnie Yen popping up in the role of a minor thug – knowing his abilities and stardom in China, his relegation to the sidelines here is nothing more than a slight and his frenetic martial arts work sits ill at ease with the mannered swordfighting found in the rest of the movie. The filmmakers desperately throw in some shoddy gore effects in an effort to attract viewers, but they can't disguise the fact that this is a movie that never should have been made.