The "Highlander" series started out as a good, solid, interesting idea about the universal theme of good versus evil. The filmmakers should have quit while they were ahead.
"Highlander: Endgame," the fourth installment in the series, has much going for it. Director Douglas Aarniokoski ignores his film's potential, and instead comes up with a truly bad movie.
Perhaps die-hard fans of the "Highlander" movies will find some merit in the film, but even they will have to look very hard. As for those who know nothing of "Highlander," my advice is to rent the first movie and stop there.
If you ignored my advice and kept reading, let me at least treat you to some vital background information: Immortals only can be killed when their heads are severed from their bodies. Immortals kill each other to gain power through a lightning-inducing process called The Quickening, and because, in the end, "there can be only one." The sole Immortal left will receive the constantly elusive Prize.
In "Endgame," Immortals and kinsmen Connor and Duncan MacLeod (Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul) reunite after a long hiatus in present-day Scotland. (And yes, their weak accents are supposed to be Scottish.) Renegade Immortal Jacob Kell (played horribly by Bruce Payne) reappears, ready to up his current tally of 661 Immortal kills. It is a game, but one in which Kell refuses to play by the rules.
One would think that with such intriguing issues (immortality, justice, good vs. evil) at hand, something meaningful and profound would emerge amidst all the sword fighting and decapitation. Unfortunately, there is no thematic tie, nor is there any character or plot development to draw in the audience. Instead, they are left to ponder why it is that they just spent eight bucks on a waste of time.
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Acting: Why did Aarniokoski cast Jacob Kell? Bruce Payne is utterly comical as the evil villain. Here are some of his more menacing lines (repeat with smirk, moving mouth as little as possible): "I call this 'decap with a twist.' Muahahaha [brandishes sword];" "Are you gonna RUUUUUN? Are you gonna HIIIIDE? Muahahaha [brandishes sword]." Payne destroys any existing believability merely by entering a scene.
Writers Gillian Horvath, Bill Panzer and Joel Soisson squander a potentially powerful twist with their underdeveloped hackwork by making Kell think that he is Jesus. He clods around with three crosses painted on the heels of his intimidating black boots (the audience is inundated with shots of them), talks maniacally of baptism in blood, and holds a "Last Supper" during which all of his guests' heads are lopped off. It is at this point that Kell is the recipient of more immortal power; unrealistic lightning and tragically amusing special effects depicts this process.
Again: why was this movie made?
With no artistic value, no central theme adding to a higher purpose, "Endgame" definitely was made for purposes of sheer entertainment -- but the movie is only entertaining when it tries its hardest not to be.
The fight scenes could have been fun if they weren't so funny. Picture this: Young hoodlums appear out of nowhere on motorcycles, waving guns and other modern weapons. A man wearing a trenchcoat pulls big sword out of nowhere. An Asian man randomly shows up, maneuvering like Bruce Lee at an impossible rate. Lots of grunting. Each hopes to cut off another's head. And this is meant to be taken seriously.
Or is it? If "Endgame" had been a little less dark, it would have been a lot more enjoyable. There's lots of fun to be had when swordplay and mythology, but Aarniokoski was apparently too serious too enjoy himself.
On the other hand, if the film's trio of writers had been able to give its Christian symbolism some more heft, "Endgame" might have been more memorable. Instead it just falls flat in the middle ground.
But in all honesty, "Endgame" is a sad disappointment. The filmmakers could have done much more with what they had. The ideas are there; an awesome movie could have emerged from these humble origins. "Endgame" could have been full of exciting spectacle. Instead, it is, as a friend put it, "highly bad." As Connor would say, "There's always tomorrow." Maybe not. This is the "last" in the series, right?
One can only hope so.
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