What do you think of the Highlander franchise?
Highlander Franchise
- Thread starter The Overlord
- Start date
I don't like how disjointed everything is but I love the first movie and the TV show. The first movie had some campy dialog but it was pretty epic and the TV series is one of my favorite shows of all time.
I saw The Source about a year and a half ago. I didn't like it, but I thought that the big development at the end was pretty gutsy.
I saw The Source about a year and a half ago. I didn't like it, but I thought that the big development at the end was pretty gutsy.
I think Highlander has one great movie, one okay TV series, and a shit-ton of sequel movies, none of which are in continuity with any other.
I love the first film, mostly love the TV show (at least up through the fifth season), and can find things about movies 2-4 to enjoy even if they mostly stink. The less said about The Source, the better.
Which terrible sequel? There have been four... 
I like it. The series, aside from the last season, was pretty cool. Even the spin-off The Raven was decent, though I wish they hadn't changed Amanda's hair. As for the movies, the first one is great. I know the second one sometimes gets some flack, but it is kind of a guilty pleasure for me.
Honestly, the TV series is better than the movie. The movie is Epic, but cheesy. The Series fleshes the whole thing out fairly well, except for the last season, which was kind of phoned in and stupid. It has it's highs and lows, but was overall really good.
The Source, unfortunately, is an attempt to do the post-apocalyptic quest epic, which they'd been trying to do in some form or another for a while now but always failed at.
Obviously, Highlander 2 was their first attempt at post-apoc. Sean Connery is almost worth all the stupid in that one.
Originally, they had intended Season 6 of the Series to be post-apoc, but shied away from that for budget reasons and because Adrian Paul wanted to leave the series. The while Arhiman plot at the end of season 6 was supposed to end the world.
The cartoon series actually did post-apoc pretty well. It had an interesting, evocative world. Unfortunately, it suffered from the same fate as most cartoon series, no real planned arc and cancellation.
The Anime did it best.
You can see parallels between Ahriman and the Guardian, particularly in how Duncan had to refuse to fight in order to win. I think that the Source is basically what they wanted to do with Season 6, but worse.
Really, they need to learn not to tack post-apoc hellscapes onto live-action Highlander movies.
3 and 4 were actually passable, if mediocre. But both stuck to immortals in modern times, and the basic good-vs-evil epic structure and so they worked.
The Source, unfortunately, is an attempt to do the post-apocalyptic quest epic, which they'd been trying to do in some form or another for a while now but always failed at.
Obviously, Highlander 2 was their first attempt at post-apoc. Sean Connery is almost worth all the stupid in that one.
Originally, they had intended Season 6 of the Series to be post-apoc, but shied away from that for budget reasons and because Adrian Paul wanted to leave the series. The while Arhiman plot at the end of season 6 was supposed to end the world.
The cartoon series actually did post-apoc pretty well. It had an interesting, evocative world. Unfortunately, it suffered from the same fate as most cartoon series, no real planned arc and cancellation.
The Anime did it best.
You can see parallels between Ahriman and the Guardian, particularly in how Duncan had to refuse to fight in order to win. I think that the Source is basically what they wanted to do with Season 6, but worse.
Really, they need to learn not to tack post-apoc hellscapes onto live-action Highlander movies.
3 and 4 were actually passable, if mediocre. But both stuck to immortals in modern times, and the basic good-vs-evil epic structure and so they worked.
i love the first movie. the second film...not so much. it has some goofy, fun parts. i think Michael Ironside is fun to watch and over the top. the third film and Endgame are alright. though Endgame makes me grumpy for killing off my favorite MacLeod. the one off anime film is great, i really loved it.
my memories of the tv series are fuzzy. been ages since i watched it but i remember enjoying it for the most part.
my memories of the tv series are fuzzy. been ages since i watched it but i remember enjoying it for the most part.
The first movie is a prime example of a 80's action flick, with quite some fantasy thrown in the mix, cheesy dialogue, hardcore men and pretty girls. I love it, it's just great fun.
Don't remember a lot of the tv-show, except that I really liked it back then. Second movie, crap, third movie, some fun stuff, nice action, crap movie overall. The fourth movie had some amazing swordchoreography, the fact that the fight between Duncan and Jin-Ke was filmed at that same speed is pretty amazing. A lot of those fightscenes are usually played quicker then they were actually shot. But acting, writing, and pacing were horrible.
And then there was The Source..... ouch......
Funny how nobody mentioned The Raven, a tv show about a female Immortal. The main character was from the original tv show.
Don't remember a lot of the tv-show, except that I really liked it back then. Second movie, crap, third movie, some fun stuff, nice action, crap movie overall. The fourth movie had some amazing swordchoreography, the fact that the fight between Duncan and Jin-Ke was filmed at that same speed is pretty amazing. A lot of those fightscenes are usually played quicker then they were actually shot. But acting, writing, and pacing were horrible.
And then there was The Source..... ouch......
Funny how nobody mentioned The Raven, a tv show about a female Immortal. The main character was from the original tv show.
Loved the first movie, need to see it again it's been to long.
While I never followed the T.V. show it was one of those shows that I have seen probably 60-70% of the episodes on a one-off basis as re-runs. I always liked the flash backs and found the episodes stand alone enough that you don't need to know much back story to enjoy them
While I never followed the T.V. show it was one of those shows that I have seen probably 60-70% of the episodes on a one-off basis as re-runs. I always liked the flash backs and found the episodes stand alone enough that you don't need to know much back story to enjoy them
I loved the 1st movie, and enjoyed the series and Endgame. Hated The Source.
Of course, the whole problem was that the original wasn't designed for sequels to work.
I actually liked Highlander: The Raven, though it could have been better.
Of course, the whole problem was that the original wasn't designed for sequels to work.
I actually liked Highlander: The Raven, though it could have been better.
Highlander is a great film, made all the more great by the soundtrack.
Highlander II is a guilty pleasure. Awful sequel, movie is spectacularly ridiculous, and quite enjoyable.
Highlander III is just appalling, a copy of the original with the names changed.
The series was very good fun, Endgame was a good end chapter to the series, not a great film, but would have been an excellent double episode, with a lot more blood than a normal episode obviously.
The animated movie was very entertaining, and the best Highlander product since the original.
The Raven. Bleeargh.
The Source. Bleeargh.
Never seen the cartoon series.
Highlander II is a guilty pleasure. Awful sequel, movie is spectacularly ridiculous, and quite enjoyable.
Highlander III is just appalling, a copy of the original with the names changed.
The series was very good fun, Endgame was a good end chapter to the series, not a great film, but would have been an excellent double episode, with a lot more blood than a normal episode obviously.
The animated movie was very entertaining, and the best Highlander product since the original.
The Raven. Bleeargh.
The Source. Bleeargh.
Never seen the cartoon series.
No need to, really. Had some interesting bits, and surprisingly had its share of character decapitations (off screen of course), but otherwise not that interesting IMO. Rented a VHS of episodes ages ago, didn't finish it.
The first movie, series, and Endgame are the finer products IMO. The anime movie was also good, and IMO was the ONLY time they did the post-apocalyptic theme well, mind you with a pretty boring lead character. Bill Panzer, the producer behind the franchise who always seemed to be pushing for the futuristic Highlander productions, passed away in 2007; mayhaps that push went with thim.
As such, I believe the best medium for Highlander is television - only there can you properly explore the life of people who live for centuries, instead of a two-hour film. I hope someday they will reboot the franchise with a fresh TV series on AMC / HBO / Showtime, where they can properly show the violence that goes with this universe as well as have the budget to show the needed historical locations (which the original series did admirably with such a limited budget). If that movie reboot ever gets made, it may be the impetus needed to get a TV production going again.
Mark
The first movie, series, and Endgame are the finer products IMO. The anime movie was also good, and IMO was the ONLY time they did the post-apocalyptic theme well, mind you with a pretty boring lead character. Bill Panzer, the producer behind the franchise who always seemed to be pushing for the futuristic Highlander productions, passed away in 2007; mayhaps that push went with thim.
As such, I believe the best medium for Highlander is television - only there can you properly explore the life of people who live for centuries, instead of a two-hour film. I hope someday they will reboot the franchise with a fresh TV series on AMC / HBO / Showtime, where they can properly show the violence that goes with this universe as well as have the budget to show the needed historical locations (which the original series did admirably with such a limited budget). If that movie reboot ever gets made, it may be the impetus needed to get a TV production going again.
Mark
The movie is a favorite of mine and my wife's, and we watch it often.
The series is, likewise, a favorite series of ours, and you may catch one of us watching episodes in our workshops while we're crafting away. Season 4 is coming up in my rotation, in fact, after I finish S4 of Man from UNCLE.
The sequel movies are horrible blemishes on the face of the Earth.
The series is, likewise, a favorite series of ours, and you may catch one of us watching episodes in our workshops while we're crafting away. Season 4 is coming up in my rotation, in fact, after I finish S4 of Man from UNCLE.
The sequel movies are horrible blemishes on the face of the Earth.
I like the first movie.
I think the franchise jumped the shark when they made the immortals aliens in the second film, after that it was just retcon after retcon, sure retconning away Zeist was a good idea, but it set a bad precedent.
The franchise jumped the shark when they MADE a second movie. There was nowhere for the story to go. The first movie told The End tale of the immortals.
