Highlander: The Source: Fairly Decent Sci Fi Original Movie…
…Not-So-Decent Franchise Sequel
Highlander has a long and storied history on both television, where it ran as a syndicated series starring Adrian Paul for six seasons, and in movie theaters, where a total of four films were released featuring Christopher Lambert. As a result, hordes of fans have been eagerly anticipating Highlander: The Source, the first new installment in the film franchise since 2000′s Highlander: Endgame. While such devotees are finally getting what they want, they might not feel so eager after they see the final product. There’s better news for those who simply like to check out Sci Fi Channel’s Saturday Original Movies, however, because for them, Highlander: The Source is a rare breed: a movie that has something akin to production values and a script that doesn’t make your brain hurt every other line.
Whenever you watch one of Sci Fi Channel’s home-grown movies and don’t have the urge to burst out in uncontrollable laughter every time an allegedly “special” effect occurs, things are definitely looking up. The first detail that struck me when I began watching the latest Highlander movie was consequently how relatively little time I was spending suppressing giggles and eye rolls. The first fifteen or so minutes of the feature are the best, an observation that both Sci Fi Original Movie and Highlander fans might both agree on.
The plot of the story is rather simple, although it definitely adds resonance if you’re familiar with the mythology and character backgrounds in Highlander history. After learning (or, for devotees, reviewing) three facts about so-called Immortals—they can only be killed with the loss of their head, they gain more power by killing other Immortals, and they cannot have children—we begin in a gloomy area of Eastern Europe where just two Immortals reside among the mass chaos: Duncan MacLeod (Paul) of the small-screen series and archaeologist Zai Jie (Stephen Rahman Hughes), who is desperately searching for The Source, loosely described as a “holy grail of peace and salvation” that only some Immortals believe exists. Duncan is of the contrary opinion that The Source is a “fairy tale and illusion created to give hope where there is none.”
This opening setup is provided through voiceover narration by Anna (Thekla Reuten), a mortal woman and the estranged wife of Duncan who has suddenly started having visions that she cannot clearly explain. When Zai Jie’s quest for The Source awakens a diabolically mutated Immortal called the Guardian (an effective Cristian Solimeno) who promptly kills him, the Immortals Duncan, Methos (Peter Wingfield, reprising his role from the TV series), Cardinal Giovanni (series newcomer Thom Fell), and Reggie Weller (newcomer and comic relief Stephen Wight), as well as mortals Anna and Joe Dawson (television and film series veteran Jim Byrnes), unite to continue seeking The Source themselves. The main peril of this dangerous journey—other than the certain death of several characters, including a major one—is that only one Immortal is deemed fit to receive the benefits of The Source; yet, no one knows which Immortal is The One or what criteria determine which Immortal is worthy of being The One.
As a Sci Fi Original Movie, Highlander: The Source delivers uncommonly adept special effects with considerable fighting—get psyched if you prefer really big knives to really loud guns—and cutting-off of heads, along with an average plot that is endurable if not groundbreaking. Highlander enthusiasts will likely find themselves feeling cheated nonetheless because the movie, notably the first in the film franchise to not enjoy a wide release in theaters (and you’ll understand exactly why after watching), is a retread and fails to advance the series in a significant way.
The ending, which takes up a good twenty minutes that seems like an hour, is especially horrendous and pretty much destroyed all of the goodwill I had developed up until that point. Describing it as muddled would be a gross understatement; tacked on, poorly planned, crudely derivative, a cop-out, and a disservice would be more accurate. Therefore, depending on where you stand with previous versions of Highlander, watch the latest film with either middling expectations or justified trepidation.
The Verdict: B- for Original Movie fans; D for serious Highlander fans
Highlander: The Source premieres Saturday, September 15, at 9pm EST on the Sci Fi Channel
Highlander: The Source photo courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel
