What happened is they ended the entire story in the first movie, tried to continue it by retconning it all to hell, and basically just turned it into one giant mess.
Agreed! Highlander was & is very much an open/closed story. But it's premise was so unique & enticing that of course Hollywood HAD to squeeze juice out of the peverbial stone But I do know that Yoshiaki Kawajiri with "Highlander-Search for Vengeance" is really good!
I know right? My mom's family is Scottish and we are distantly related to William Wallace which my grandmother was very proud of but I didn't care about until Braveheart came out. The imagery of the highlands and the score really gave me my first look at Scotland as a child.
I love Ironside's mentality to the second film. It might be bad, but he wasn't gonna be bad in it. Also, HOLY CRAP! dislocating his jaw then having Lambert punch it back into place! Hard-fucking-core!
There should've been only ONE movie! ❤ My second favourite film from my childhood. I used to watch it on VHS every day. Clancy Brown as the Kurgan, Christopher Lambert and Queen's music are the best thing about this masterpiece. 🤘🏻😎
Yeah, I agree. Usually I'm ok with sequels. I don't really have a problem with anyone squeezing more stories out their characters, unless they hurt the premise of the original story. Highlander is an example of exactly that.
Just like how the first Jurassic Park and Matrix are the only good ones. I saw the first Highlander for the first time almost four years ago. Wasn’t really a fan but what a movie.
Without watching all this yet, i get the feeling that Blockbuster video saved the film. I remember renting it for family movie night and falling in love with the concept. Eventually the whole family always tuned in for each episode of the TV series.
Highlander is a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. No sequel was needed. Out of all of them the 3rd film kinda-sorta works best as a continuation of the story.
I watched Highlander II tons of times to try to understand it But then I found out that nothing made sense But it was intriguing the approach to science fiction. So much that they made a cartoon series and an anime with a sci-fi setting
As a kid I thought the second one was an intelligent grown up-movie and that's why I couldn't get it. But it didn't take too long to understand the truth. Nevertheless I've always found the theatrical version with the fairy tail-ending a fun movie with all it's nonsense. And my treasure is a vhs-tape of the movie with an autograph by my favorite actor Michael Ironside.
take out the immortal part and just make it a movie where an evil villain uses the shield to keep the planet under his control and the heroes have to go and stop him? that alone would make a passable film at worst...and a good movie at best if more elements were added to improve it, the heroes would need a cool way to move around the city like a hoverboard or something like that, instead of just swords, the swords are their main weapons but sci-fi blasters are used to say blast open doors and what not? and the enemies mostly use blasters at range but switch to swords at close range and of course the blaster shots could be reflected back by the swords?? eh but what get's the heroes to go on their quest is the villain sending some idiotic goons to try and kill em who get easily killed and the heroes enraged decide enough s enough and they storm megacorp tower? yes as a generic sci-fi movie I'd be that generic and make the evil corp megacorp lol and the villain I think would be called simply Megalomaniac oh the things one could do with this movie....
@@mksolid82 and still neither are very good...bad movies are always bad movies lol at least the heroes went out with a bang in Highlander 2 and didn't just blip out by remote right? lol
Clancy Brown had a pretty good idea for the modern day Kurgan, dressing like a "Wall Street Dude". A modern version of what the character embodied, instead of just modernizing the character's look. 😅Or something like that... I'm out of my depth when I start "thinking".
the Kurgan was the type of character that made me endlessly wonder how in the hell is this guy running around in the modern world and not in prison yet. which leads to me wondering about an immortal with a life sentence, which i semi think they did on the tv series at some point. but yeah with the s*** the Kurgan is doing Police definitely would have tried to arrest him and he would have resisted and probably killed a few which would lead to more coming after him and he would be like SERIOUSLY wanted, and he stands out like an alien or something and would not go unnoticed. so either he would have ended up in prison where he escapes all the time and is on like the most wanted list or he would have whole swat teams coming after him all the time until they finally manage to accidently blast his head off and finally kill him.
The fact that "Highlander" did so poorly on its release is absolute insanity to me. This is one of my ALL-TIME top three favorite movies. I was a kit when it came out and I thought it was incredible. The story was fantastic and the music was INCREDIBLE! Granted I'm talking about the original.
Just as everyone said, there should have been only one movie. The first one had great action, an awesome villain and a soundtrack by Queen. Not to mention directed by the man who made several classic Duran Duran videos. Didn’t need any sequels….. I did enjoy the TV series though
Lambert and Peebles both said, in spite of all the silly issues on the movie, they had a really great time rehearsing and enhancing their fight choreography during production.
they're so bad not worth mentioning I guess?? I saw either the source or endgame, whichever one Conner wanted to be taken out of the game i fell asleep half into that movie lolz one of only a few movies that's happened...crow city of angels, punisher warzone and highlander endgame or source crow city of angels my brother and his friend were watching it and I just offhandedly say like 10 minutes in, I bet the villains learn the crow's secret earlier than the first one and the end fight is a shit show, my brother's friend scoffed whut?? i fell asleep before the end and woke up to them kicking my chair saying how'd I know?? seen enough sequels to guess is all, I did the same to the remake of house on haunted hill, I predicted each death before it happened based on character actions, it annoyed everyone but i was right each time, minimal effort movies are that predictable....
I love how he's referring to Highlander and Big Trouble In Little China as flops. They were, but VHS made these movies cult classics. Around 1984, the secondary movie market surprised major movie studios with the hundreds of millions in revenue it created.
Here is the problem with Highlander saga. You could make the strong argument that it should only have been 1 movie. We can 110% agree we never needed Highlander 2 as even Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery themselves wanted to abandon the movie but could not because they where under contract allready and would been sued. But if we look at the 3rd movie and the TV series, they could have worked IF they had followed the original plan. So here it is how it should have been with the material: 1. Highlander 3 should have been written as a prequel story before the OG Highlander movie happenings ocured. Then it could have worked. 2. The TV series was to be made so it would end up before the OG movie and since it was focused on his clans man brother Duncan MacLeoud, it would not have been interfearing meenwhile and then when the series would close up - all immortals in the series would go on and lose to Connor, Kurgan and the other two immortals seen in the OG movie. Now I love Duncan MacLeoud so it would not be easy seeing him have to go, but if Connor McLeoud was the "chosen" hero and "There Can Be Only One", then he had to lose his head at some point. Same with the eldest immortal, Methos and the others.
Almost all good movies shouldn't have sequels. Sequels exist because in showbiz, money is all that matters and sequels to successes are easy to green light and sell. Frankly, I'd rather have "ripoffs" or "copies" than sequels and prequels to movies, which diminish the originals.
@@mightisright That depends entirelly on what movies we talk about, that is if it is/was originally not intended to continue the story or not. Like original Star Wars trilogy was greatly built, or Alien to Aliens. Other times the material is genuine good enough to further discover more with, but are executed less well or poorly. A great example to that would be Starship Troupers with the great wars against the giant bugs, that held tons of potentials to develop, but ended up disaster in handeling, writing and execution so much the sequels are not "related" to yhe OG film because the levels are night & day from each-others.
Yo I appreciate all the great videos, it's comforting having a go-to spot when I just need to chill and look for gems that I forgot or missed, been like 20 years since I've watched Highlander, totally going to watch tonight.
i love Highlander and i remember at the time i had never even heard of it until i stumbled on it when it first came to cable. i was never impressed with Christopher Lambert though, i didnt hate him or think he was bad i just never thought he seemed very cool and shouldnt be starring in a film like this. imagining Kurt Russell and Catherine Mary Stewart in it would have been so interesting, i had a massive crush on her back then. i also LOVE The Bride and had no idea Sting was offered a roll or that he is the one that recommended Clancy Brown, this is one of my favorite films and i think it is sadly under known. i adore the relationship between Viktor and Renaldo. back in the late 80s when i was reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Sting in this film is who i always pictured when she described what Lestat looked like. anyway yeah i just never saw Lambert as right for the role, when the TV series came out i REALLY loved it. i think Adrian Paul was PERFECT for the role and liked Duncan much more than Connor. and of course a tv series works better than a film for an immortal character that has centuries worth of adventures and fighting to show, it actually gives the time needed to tell their story. the second Highlander film is one of the worst movies i have EVER seen, i actually saw it in the theatre and fell asleep. i have never fallen asleep in a theatre before, especially then when i was like still in my late teens and full of energy. it was awful. the third film was ok but generic and basically just the first film again. Endgame is easily my second favorite Highlander film by a mile, about half of it could have been used to make an even better film. and that last film, that sci fi channel one is mind boggling. it is so bad and so cheap and is worse than some home made fan film. and yet somehow i still can not say it is worse than Highlander 2. but certainly is not better either. i just can not comment on it at all honestly because i do not even consider that one to be a real film.
Crazy, I’m an 80’s baby and I always saw this on tv. I was always fascinated by the plot and premise of the show but didn’t watch it until I was 20 and in college
I saw this in the theaters and absolutely loved it. I'd previously seen Tarzan The Legend Of Greystoke so I recognized Christopher Lambert's face. Btw, please look up his short lived production company Lamb Bear, because that's how this Frenchman's name is pronounced. 🙄🤦♀️
No franchise ended worse than Highlander. That last movie they made had some of the most hack writing and threw beloved characters away. Like the dude with the limp who was with the Watchers and was Duncan's good friend and a great character was killed off in the most pathetic major character death scene in the history of all media. Then at the end when there is only one (there can be only one) it was so underwhelming for an event that was hyped for decades and always made you speculate what would actually happen when there was only one immortal left... And what we got was a giant nothing burger.
It was a B-Movie; never saw it as canon (how deep can a franchise sink). The fourth film did also not have a theatrical release (although not sure), but I ended up quite liking it.
They should have treated the "prize" like the Dragon Balls, Winner gets all the information on the planet but a new set of immortals are born right after for that planet. Then on other planets (with different physics) the same thing is happening, then when there's other planets with winners they fight for all that info for each planets while still getting to be immortal and maybe the ability to transport to those different planets somehow. So the end goal is trying to get all the information of the universe taking millions of years, that way you can have many movies and spin offs.
That’s actually awesome. Then Highlander 2 can keep the Ziest plot and ironside can still be an alien coming to earth to challenge the worlds greatest swordsman.
@@shawnbell3468 a lot of people hate H2 and I understand why. It’s one of those guilty pleasures for more. Both cuts too. One of my favorite things to do while on acid is try to make H2 make sense. I had two plots that could make sense.
I kinda like the idea that game never ends.. immortals are constantly born. There is no prize just a never ending battle. Some sort of sick game by some unseen diety
If there were ever a series called “WTF Happened to This Video Game”, it should definitely include an episode about the “Highlander” game for the Atari Jaguar CD.
Michael Ironside is hilarious.... claiming they were using 20 lb swords. A typical real broadsword weighs around 4-5 lbs at the most. A prop sword that isn't combat ready would be even less.
11:45 The comics didn't receive a mention in that list. The comics that feature Connor as the main are dope. The last ones up to the beginning of Highlander(1986).
Nice have yet to see the Renegade cut of 2 but, now I'll have to check it out. Are you planning a sep video containing Endgame/Source/Animated movies by chance. Love the off-the-wall style of the Search for Vengeance and would be interested to see your take on that one for sure.
@@Lord_englishgentHe has been attached to a Highlander remake for years now, with Henry Cavill set to star. It has just been announced that the sequel starts filming in 2024.
@rikuruohomaki3230 - And they made the same "announcement" nearly 3 years ago with filming supposedly set to start in late 2021. Don't hold your breath on this actually getting made anytime this decade. Stahelski has other *guaranteed* projects on his plate, and Cavill is far too busy with his Warhammer passion project, as well as having recently signed on for a prominent role in the MCU. The main problem they've been having with getting this remake made is a lack of interest by potential investors. The franchise is dead. The Source was the final sad nail in the coffin. And with the advancements in technology over the last 20 years, coming up with a story that's supposed to be set in modern times, where the immortals are still somehow able to maintain their secrecy, is extremely difficult. There's been NO finalized script. NO secured budget. NO casting beyond attempting to attach a well-known name(10 years ago it was Ryan Reynolds), that eventually backs out due to pre-production languishing in developmental hell for over 15 years. There's NO production schedule or actual set time frame for filming *OR* release. And every "update" we've been given over the last 3 years has been them rehashing the same tripe that we've heard before of "We're closer than we've ever been" and "filming starts really soon"🙄 Until they've actually secured a budget, announced other cast members, and show on-set proof of filming *actually* happening, *DON'T* believe the attempted hype🤷♂️
In the end there can be only one! It will be interesting to see if the Highlander reboot gets off the ground. I think it will be good as long as they make it their own. I don't know if it will be better than the original but if they set it up for a sequel then the sequels will be better than original follow ups. I hope they have the Queen music like the original film and TV show.
Easy answer.. there should not have been a saga.. it really wasn't set up for sequels... Maybe prequels.. mostly the writing after the first one sucked.. and the one called the source? Ugh!
The Highlander Franchise just from an objective standpoint is *fascinating* to me. There is one and only one universally well-recieved piece of media in the entire thing, which spans six films, three TV series, three video games, and an anime. And only one movie was any good.
Never thought I'd ever say I was looking forward to the remake. Love the original, and after 30 years I'm finally going to stick my toe into the tv spinoff. I never could accept anything after the first film because, well he was the last immortal and had the prize. Fun facts, Highlander 2 is set in the dystopian future of...2024 and Henry Caville has been confirmed for the reboot directed by Chad Stahelski.
I love Highlander. It will always be the only one. The remake they have planned will surely be updated for modern audiences, so Connor will be played by Whoopi Goldberg.
I love how to this day no one knows why Axl refused to do the music unless Van Peebles was fired. So weird lol. It’s just one of those weird things I am oddly curious about now.
The main reason the first movie works so.much is because of Mulcahy. Hearing of all the problems while making it and post, imagine if it wasn't as stylishly directed? It still is its own thing compared to other Fantasy type films. The casting choices, I can only thing how the film would have been if Mel Gibson was cast.
i have no idea if it is actually happening or not but i have been amazed for years now that a reboot has not happened yet. and yes that last film i do not even consider an actual real film. it is so bad and so cheap it is, it looks like cutscenes from some 90s rom video game.
Well it had 1 good movie, then got spread thin by 2 more, which the second was so radically different it needed a reedit later on. Then the TV series & Spinoffs took the half dead Highlander & curb stomped it todeath over a period of years.
I saw Highlander2 opening day (and made a vow NEVER to see another movie on opening day) but I came up with a theory: They were desperate for a sequel and didn't have a script so they REWROTE the script from a completely different movie. Watch it again (if you dare!) and remove all the 'Highlander' stuff and you can see the outline of that theoretical other script.
If they really wanted a sequel, just have that by the beginning of 2000, a new batch of Immortals were born and the Gathering would begin anew. They could add that Connor MacLeod had lived as a mortal for all those years, and is then given the choice to continue on as that or get killed and return back as an immortal.
You know as much as I would have loved to see Kurt Russell as Connor Macleod and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the kurgan in this film and they probably would have been good especially seeing them together in an action movie, personally I think Christopher lambert and Clancy Brown were perfectly suited for the roles as the hero and villain. It made sense.
Highlander 3 has the best sex scene of all time for a R-rated release. It’s so stylish and well shot. Deborah Kara Unger was just absolutely on fire. I advise anyone who has not seen the film to check it out just for this reason alone. Otherwise the Highlander sequels are a mess. But they are pretty tame compared to most garbage we get today.
The Source when they killed off the guy from The Watchers that was Duncan's friend... OMG... I almost died from cringe seeing them do a great character so dirty like that...
Why not use a real sword that is blunted? Real swords for a Highlander sequel of all things? 😂Christophe Lambert is a madman in the best way possible haha
I wish in the sequel highlander 2: the quickening they showed what happened to the Kurgan and Ramirez when they both died. The Kurgan`s disembodied spirit died and went into space and went through a tunnel into hell. And Ramirez disembodied spirit went through a tunnel into some spiritual planet that is like some earth like paradise heaven.
Highlander 1 was great. 2 and 3 were a mess, best forgotten . 4 was ok. 5 was a completely convoluted mess that contradicted everything. Methos was not the oldest, otherwise he's the most idiotic if he lived thru the convergence the first time and didn't know or forgot it happened.
The plot point that has always bugged me is, how do the Immortals know how many of them there are? If a person doesn't know they're Immortal until they come back to life after dying, how is it known who may eventually become immortal? What causes the ability to become immortal to stop, so that there can be only one? If I'd written things, becoming immortal would have been a curse or a spell placed on clans centuries ago and that as the bloodline of these clan members was passed down, it slowly diluted, thus eventually bringing an end to the number of immortals that existed, thus allowing the Gathering to be.
At some point (it was cut from the final version) it was revealed that the immortals were all psychically connected through the energy that makes them immortal. Connor was born as the strongest of them (Kurgan became stronger through killing other immortals but Connor had the most potential. That's why Kurgan knew about him and pursued him and Ramirez also sought him out.
@@jediknightjairinaiki560 You're right, because otherwise how would Ramirez know about Conner all the way from Spain in the 1500s? And how would Kurgan know there was "one among them named Connor" who was immortal?
a stupid thing about highlander, is the same about jedi. there cant be a last one, as new ones can still be born!. also being the last one just to have kids and die of old age, is lame.
@@Veins1 That's why I think it should have been written that it was a curse or a spell cast upon clans from hundreds of years ago and that over time, with generation after generation it weakened where eventually it stopped existing.
Highlander: a movie where a Frenchman plays a Scotsman and a Scottish actor plays a Spaniard, despite both having noticeable accents. When we get the inevitable Highlander remake I hope they deliberately miscast Gerard Butler and his heavy accent as a homage to the original.
For some reason when I was a kid I really liked Highlander 2. Maybe because of my imagination and I didn’t care about the story really but 1 is def the best and the rest suck. 3 and 4 were god awful and I think just as bad as 2.
Not sure how I feel about this new format of combining and re-releasing videos about the same series...It's nice to have all 3 WTF videos together, but we've seen the same content already...
![HIGHLANDER 1992 Cast Then and Now 2022 How They Changed???[30 Years After]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gdUTUToo6r8/mqdefault.jpg)
![HIGHLANDER 1992 Cast Then and Now 2022 How They Changed???[30 Years After]](/img/tr.png)
Those drunken Scottish extras are the real heroes in my eyes ❤
What happened is they ended the entire story in the first movie, tried to continue it by retconning it all to hell, and basically just turned it into one giant mess.
Classic Hollywood
Agreed! Highlander was & is very much an open/closed story.
But it's premise was so unique & enticing that of course Hollywood HAD to squeeze juice out of the peverbial stone
But I do know that Yoshiaki Kawajiri with "Highlander-Search for Vengeance" is really good!
There should have been only one
Interestingly enough, the 1st was supposed to be a stand alone movie. After the success of the 1st movie, through home sales, they decided to do more.
Sequels could work only if they take place in the past.
RIP Michael Kamen
He made the score of the first movie feel so majestic that it makes me wanna go to Scotland
I know right? My mom's family is Scottish and we are distantly related to William Wallace which my grandmother was very proud of but I didn't care about until Braveheart came out. The imagery of the highlands and the score really gave me my first look at Scotland as a child.
I love Ironside's mentality to the second film. It might be bad, but he wasn't gonna be bad in it. Also, HOLY CRAP! dislocating his jaw then having Lambert punch it back into place! Hard-fucking-core!
I get the feeling Ironside had the same mindset when he voiced the villain Tyler in Heavy Metal 2000, the guy is easily the most memorable thing in it
Yes!!!
There should've been only ONE movie! ❤
My second favourite film from my childhood. I used to watch it on VHS every day.
Clancy Brown as the Kurgan, Christopher Lambert and Queen's music are the best thing about this masterpiece. 🤘🏻😎
Yeah, I agree. Usually I'm ok with sequels. I don't really have a problem with anyone squeezing more stories out their characters, unless they hurt the premise of the original story. Highlander is an example of exactly that.
Just like how the first Jurassic Park and Matrix are the only good ones.
I saw the first Highlander for the first time almost four years ago. Wasn’t really a fan but what a movie.
@@LinkMarioSamus cool.
@@THE_Dodge_Morningstar 🤘🏻😎
I disagree.
I'd like to see prequels showing Coner McClouds early Adventures.
Without watching all this yet, i get the feeling that Blockbuster video saved the film. I remember renting it for family movie night and falling in love with the concept. Eventually the whole family always tuned in for each episode of the TV series.
Absolutely still love the original. There really should have been one movie. Queen doing the soundtrack just made it legend status.
Yeesh, that narration is exhausting
Highlander is a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. No sequel was needed. Out of all of them the 3rd film kinda-sorta works best as a continuation of the story.
I watched Highlander II tons of times to try to understand it
But then I found out that nothing made sense
But it was intriguing the approach to science fiction. So much that they made a cartoon series and an anime with a sci-fi setting
As a kid I thought the second one was an intelligent grown up-movie and that's why I couldn't get it. But it didn't take too long to understand the truth. Nevertheless I've always found the theatrical version with the fairy tail-ending a fun movie with all it's nonsense. And my treasure is a vhs-tape of the movie with an autograph by my favorite actor Michael Ironside.
take out the immortal part and just make it a movie where an evil villain uses the shield to keep the planet under his control and the heroes have to go and stop him? that alone would make a passable film at worst...and a good movie at best if more elements were added to improve it, the heroes would need a cool way to move around the city like a hoverboard or something like that, instead of just swords, the swords are their main weapons but sci-fi blasters are used to say blast open doors and what not? and the enemies mostly use blasters at range but switch to swords at close range and of course the blaster shots could be reflected back by the swords?? eh
but what get's the heroes to go on their quest is the villain sending some idiotic goons to try and kill em who get easily killed and the heroes enraged decide enough s enough and they storm megacorp tower? yes as a generic sci-fi movie I'd be that generic and make the evil corp megacorp lol and the villain I think would be called simply Megalomaniac
oh the things one could do with this movie....
Highlander 2 used to be the worst and most disappointing science fiction sequel of all time until The Last Jedi came along. 😉
@@mksolid82 and still neither are very good...bad movies are always bad movies lol at least the heroes went out with a bang in Highlander 2 and didn't just blip out by remote right? lol
@@judgedrekk2981 Exactly. Back then movies were just “bad” they didn’t destroy our heroes.
Clancy Brown had a pretty good idea for the modern day Kurgan, dressing like a "Wall Street Dude". A modern version of what the character embodied, instead of just modernizing the character's look. 😅Or something like that... I'm out of my depth when I start "thinking".
He actually got to play a similar character when he voiced Lex Luthor on the '90s Superman cartoon.
the Kurgan was the type of character that made me endlessly wonder how in the hell is this guy running around in the modern world and not in prison yet. which leads to me wondering about an immortal with a life sentence, which i semi think they did on the tv series at some point. but yeah with the s*** the Kurgan is doing Police definitely would have tried to arrest him and he would have resisted and probably killed a few which would lead to more coming after him and he would be like SERIOUSLY wanted, and he stands out like an alien or something and would not go unnoticed. so either he would have ended up in prison where he escapes all the time and is on like the most wanted list or he would have whole swat teams coming after him all the time until they finally manage to accidently blast his head off and finally kill him.
The fact that "Highlander" did so poorly on its release is absolute insanity to me. This is one of my ALL-TIME top three favorite movies. I was a kit when it came out and I thought it was incredible. The story was fantastic and the music was INCREDIBLE! Granted I'm talking about the original.
Just as everyone said, there should have been only one movie. The first one had great action, an awesome villain and a soundtrack by Queen. Not to mention directed by the man who made several classic Duran Duran videos. Didn’t need any sequels….. I did enjoy the TV series though
Lambert and Peebles both said, in spite of all the silly issues on the movie, they had a really great time rehearsing and enhancing their fight choreography during production.
Great video. Though I wish you also covered the awful 'Highlander: The Source' movie, which followed Endgame. That starred Duncan from the tv series.
they're so bad not worth mentioning I guess?? I saw either the source or endgame, whichever one Conner wanted to be taken out of the game i fell asleep half into that movie lolz
one of only a few movies that's happened...crow city of angels, punisher warzone and highlander endgame or source
crow city of angels my brother and his friend were watching it and I just offhandedly say like 10 minutes in, I bet the villains learn the crow's secret earlier than the first one and the end fight is a shit show, my brother's friend scoffed whut?? i fell asleep before the end and woke up to them kicking my chair saying how'd I know??
seen enough sequels to guess is all, I did the same to the remake of house on haunted hill, I predicted each death before it happened based on character actions, it annoyed everyone but i was right each time, minimal effort movies are that predictable....
I've had this movie on 3 or 4 different PC builds since 2012, and I still haven't been able to get through it.
The opening monologue read by Sean Connery has that ethereal echo to it because it was recorded in his Bathroom.
I love how he's referring to Highlander and Big Trouble In Little China as flops. They were, but VHS made these movies cult classics. Around 1984, the secondary movie market surprised major movie studios with the hundreds of millions in revenue it created.
I agree. Highlander was perhaps the most iconic VHS rental of all time. It was a must see back in the 90s.
Even though Endgame had flaws I still like it
Here is the problem with Highlander saga. You could make the strong argument that it should only have been 1 movie.
We can 110% agree we never needed Highlander 2 as even Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery themselves wanted to abandon the movie but could not because they where under contract allready and would been sued. But if we look at the 3rd movie and the TV series, they could have worked IF they had followed the original plan.
So here it is how it should have been with the material:
1. Highlander 3 should have been written as a prequel story before the OG Highlander movie happenings ocured. Then it could have worked.
2. The TV series was to be made so it would end up before the OG movie and since it was focused on his clans man brother Duncan MacLeoud, it would not have been interfearing meenwhile and then when the series would close up - all immortals in the series would go on and lose to Connor, Kurgan and the other two immortals seen in the OG movie.
Now I love Duncan MacLeoud so it would not be easy seeing him have to go, but if Connor McLeoud was the "chosen" hero and "There Can Be Only One", then he had to lose his head at some point. Same with the eldest immortal, Methos and the others.
Almost all good movies shouldn't have sequels. Sequels exist because in showbiz, money is all that matters and sequels to successes are easy to green light and sell.
Frankly, I'd rather have "ripoffs" or "copies" than sequels and prequels to movies, which diminish the originals.
If Highlander 2 hadn't come out then there would be no tv show. It's worth it to have the sequel if it meant getting the series.
@@davidm4566 Well that is one way to put it! But that would be the ONLY reason.
@@mightisright That depends entirelly on what movies we talk about, that is if it is/was originally not intended to continue the story or not. Like original Star Wars trilogy was greatly built, or Alien to Aliens.
Other times the material is genuine good enough to further discover more with, but are executed less well or poorly.
A great example to that would be Starship Troupers with the great wars against the giant bugs, that held tons of potentials to develop, but ended up disaster in handeling, writing and execution so much the sequels are not "related" to yhe OG film because the levels are night & day from each-others.
Yo I appreciate all the great videos, it's comforting having a go-to spot when I just need to chill and look for gems that I forgot or missed, been like 20 years since I've watched Highlander, totally going to watch tonight.
i love Highlander and i remember at the time i had never even heard of it until i stumbled on it when it first came to cable. i was never impressed with Christopher Lambert though, i didnt hate him or think he was bad i just never thought he seemed very cool and shouldnt be starring in a film like this. imagining Kurt Russell and Catherine Mary Stewart in it would have been so interesting, i had a massive crush on her back then.
i also LOVE The Bride and had no idea Sting was offered a roll or that he is the one that recommended Clancy Brown, this is one of my favorite films and i think it is sadly under known. i adore the relationship between Viktor and Renaldo. back in the late 80s when i was reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Sting in this film is who i always pictured when she described what Lestat looked like.
anyway yeah i just never saw Lambert as right for the role, when the TV series came out i REALLY loved it. i think Adrian Paul was PERFECT for the role and liked Duncan much more than Connor. and of course a tv series works better than a film for an immortal character that has centuries worth of adventures and fighting to show, it actually gives the time needed to tell their story.
the second Highlander film is one of the worst movies i have EVER seen, i actually saw it in the theatre and fell asleep. i have never fallen asleep in a theatre before, especially then when i was like still in my late teens and full of energy. it was awful.
the third film was ok but generic and basically just the first film again.
Endgame is easily my second favorite Highlander film by a mile, about half of it could have been used to make an even better film.
and that last film, that sci fi channel one is mind boggling. it is so bad and so cheap and is worse than some home made fan film. and yet somehow i still can not say it is worse than Highlander 2. but certainly is not better either. i just can not comment on it at all honestly because i do not even consider that one to be a real film.
Mr. Krabs played Frankenstein... let that sink in... got no jokes, though.
Crazy, I’m an 80’s baby and I always saw this on tv. I was always fascinated by the plot and premise of the show but didn’t watch it until I was 20 and in college
I saw this in the theaters and absolutely loved it.
I'd previously seen Tarzan The Legend Of Greystoke so I recognized Christopher Lambert's face.
Btw, please look up his short lived production company Lamb Bear, because that's how this Frenchman's name is pronounced. 🙄🤦♀️
I own the first Highlander director's cut on DVD, awesome film!
No franchise ended worse than Highlander. That last movie they made had some of the most hack writing and threw beloved characters away. Like the dude with the limp who was with the Watchers and was Duncan's good friend and a great character was killed off in the most pathetic major character death scene in the history of all media. Then at the end when there is only one (there can be only one) it was so underwhelming for an event that was hyped for decades and always made you speculate what would actually happen when there was only one immortal left... And what we got was a giant nothing burger.
It was a B-Movie; never saw it as canon (how deep can a franchise sink). The fourth film did also not have a theatrical release (although not sure), but I ended up quite liking it.
being the last one just to have kids and die of old age, was lame.
They should have treated the "prize" like the Dragon Balls, Winner gets all the information on the planet but a new set of immortals are born right after for that planet. Then on other planets (with different physics) the same thing is happening, then when there's other planets with winners they fight for all that info for each planets while still getting to be immortal and maybe the ability to transport to those different planets somehow. So the end goal is trying to get all the information of the universe taking millions of years, that way you can have many movies and spin offs.
That’s actually awesome. Then Highlander 2 can keep the Ziest plot and ironside can still be an alien coming to earth to challenge the worlds greatest swordsman.
Or would it be the best swordsman in the galaxy... for now.
@@shawnbell3468 a lot of people hate H2 and I understand why. It’s one of those guilty pleasures for more. Both cuts too. One of my favorite things to do while on acid is try to make H2 make sense. I had two plots that could make sense.
I kinda like the idea that game never ends.. immortals are constantly born. There is no prize just a never ending battle. Some sort of sick game by some unseen diety
If there were ever a series called “WTF Happened to This Video Game”, it should definitely include an episode about the “Highlander” game for the Atari Jaguar CD.
I can’t wait for the reboot from director Chad Stahelski and starring Henry Cavill!
Another switching the generation film? 😂
Michael Ironside is hilarious.... claiming they were using 20 lb swords. A typical real broadsword weighs around 4-5 lbs at the most. A prop sword that isn't combat ready would be even less.
11:45
The comics didn't receive a mention in that list. The comics that feature Connor as the main are dope. The last ones up to the beginning of Highlander(1986).
Highlander 2 is the only sequel I know of that makes the original movie worse.
Nice have yet to see the Renegade cut of 2 but, now I'll have to check it out. Are you planning a sep video containing Endgame/Source/Animated movies by chance. Love the off-the-wall style of the Search for Vengeance and would be interested to see your take on that one for sure.
I really hope Chad Stahelski gets to make the reboot
has he been linked to the project? that would be great, John Wick Highlander, fightingteh High Table from all time
@@Lord_englishgentHe has been attached to a Highlander remake for years now, with Henry Cavill set to star. It has just been announced that the sequel starts filming in 2024.
@rikuruohomaki3230 - And they made the same "announcement" nearly 3 years ago with filming supposedly set to start in late 2021. Don't hold your breath on this actually getting made anytime this decade. Stahelski has other *guaranteed* projects on his plate, and Cavill is far too busy with his Warhammer passion project, as well as having recently signed on for a prominent role in the MCU.
The main problem they've been having with getting this remake made is a lack of interest by potential investors. The franchise is dead. The Source was the final sad nail in the coffin. And with the advancements in technology over the last 20 years, coming up with a story that's supposed to be set in modern times, where the immortals are still somehow able to maintain their secrecy, is extremely difficult.
There's been NO finalized script. NO secured budget. NO casting beyond attempting to attach a well-known name(10 years ago it was Ryan Reynolds), that eventually backs out due to pre-production languishing in developmental hell for over 15 years. There's NO production schedule or actual set time frame for filming *OR* release. And every "update" we've been given over the last 3 years has been them rehashing the same tripe that we've heard before of "We're closer than we've ever been" and "filming starts really soon"🙄
Until they've actually secured a budget, announced other cast members, and show on-set proof of filming *actually* happening, *DON'T* believe the attempted hype🤷♂️
They should have covered the SyFy made-for-tv movie "Highlanders: The Source"
I love this movie and even saw it first run in the theatre
@25:43 wait why is that guy's face blurred out?
Loved this movie in the 80s. ReWatched it not long ago , WOW This Has Dated
In the end there can be only one! It will be interesting to see if the Highlander reboot gets off the ground. I think it will be good as long as they make it their own. I don't know if it will be better than the original but if they set it up for a sequel then the sequels will be better than original follow ups. I hope they have the Queen music like the original film and TV show.
Easy answer.. there should not have been a saga.. it really wasn't set up for sequels... Maybe prequels.. mostly the writing after the first one sucked.. and the one called the source? Ugh!
The Highlander Franchise just from an objective standpoint is *fascinating* to me.
There is one and only one universally well-recieved piece of media in the entire thing, which spans six films, three TV series, three video games, and an anime.
And only one movie was any good.
Box office flop? One of the greatest movies ever made!
when personal feelings clashes with reality.
@Veins1 you misunderstand, inspite of its status as a bof, it is still one of the greatest movies ever.
I have never seen these movies and have been debating bothering watching them.
The first is definitely worth it.
Never thought I'd ever say I was looking forward to the remake. Love the original, and after 30 years I'm finally going to stick my toe into the tv spinoff. I never could accept anything after the first film because, well he was the last immortal and had the prize. Fun facts, Highlander 2 is set in the dystopian future of...2024 and Henry Caville has been confirmed for the reboot directed by Chad Stahelski.
I thought forensics sidnt really start until DNA was introduced in 1995 or so
I love Highlander. It will always be the only one. The remake they have planned will surely be updated for modern audiences, so Connor will be played by Whoopi Goldberg.
I love how to this day no one knows why Axl refused to do the music unless Van Peebles was fired. So weird lol. It’s just one of those weird things I am oddly curious about now.
The main reason the first movie works so.much is because of Mulcahy. Hearing of all the problems while making it and post, imagine if it wasn't as stylishly directed? It still is its own thing compared to other Fantasy type films. The casting choices, I can only thing how the film would have been if Mel Gibson was cast.
"There can be only one (007,)Ramirez and Highlander."
I’m just happy the Highlander remake is finally happening, that way Highlander The Sorce isn’t the last movie in the series lol
The Source is one seriously shit movie. It's like a highschool project it's so bad
i have no idea if it is actually happening or not but i have been amazed for years now that a reboot has not happened yet. and yes that last film i do not even consider an actual real film. it is so bad and so cheap it is, it looks like cutscenes from some 90s rom video game.
Well it had 1 good movie, then got spread thin by 2 more, which the second was so radically different it needed a reedit later on. Then the TV series & Spinoffs took the half dead Highlander & curb stomped it todeath over a period of years.
There can be only one, thanks for the tip.
I saw Highlander2 opening day (and made a vow NEVER to see another movie on opening day) but I came up with a theory:
They were desperate for a sequel and didn't have a script so they REWROTE the script from a completely different movie. Watch it again (if you dare!) and remove all the 'Highlander' stuff and you can see the outline of that theoretical other script.
If they really wanted a sequel, just have that by the beginning of 2000, a new batch of Immortals were born and the Gathering would begin anew. They could add that Connor MacLeod had lived as a mortal for all those years, and is then given the choice to continue on as that or get killed and return back as an immortal.
You know as much as I would have loved to see Kurt Russell as Connor Macleod and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the kurgan in this film and they probably would have been good especially seeing them together in an action movie, personally I think Christopher lambert and Clancy Brown were perfectly suited for the roles as the hero and villain. It made sense.
Highlanders my favorite 80s fantasy film.
THIS MOVIE MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH QUEEN... love the move too
There can be only one JOELANDER!
Highlander 3 has the best sex scene of all time for a R-rated release. It’s so stylish and well shot. Deborah Kara Unger was just absolutely on fire. I advise anyone who has not seen the film to check it out just for this reason alone. Otherwise the Highlander sequels are a mess. But they are pretty tame compared to most garbage we get today.
You have got to respect Michael Ironside for giving zero fucks
Would have been great if H3 had been a prequel as originally planned. Also, what references to the television series were in H3?
I’ve only ever seen the first one
Wish I’d just seen the first one!!!
The first one is all you need. Please stay far away from the one called the source.. it ruins the story completely.
The Source is the worst end to a franchise of all time. It made me want to write a stern letter it was so bad...
Also, there can be only one... That is worth watching in this franchise...
The Source when they killed off the guy from The Watchers that was Duncan's friend... OMG... I almost died from cringe seeing them do a great character so dirty like that...
Why not use a real sword that is blunted? Real swords for a Highlander sequel of all things? 😂Christophe Lambert is a madman in the best way possible haha
Definitely worth a remake....but must keep the Queen soundtrack 😊
Loved the movie, loved the series.
The highlander is great…. The rest are a load of shite….
There should have been only one
I wish in the sequel highlander 2: the quickening they showed what happened to the Kurgan and Ramirez when they both died. The Kurgan`s disembodied spirit died and went into space and went through a tunnel into hell. And Ramirez disembodied spirit went through a tunnel into some spiritual planet that is like some earth like paradise heaven.
There wasn’t only one. That’s the problem.
Is this half a of the production? what about the rest of the films and TV programmes?
Catherine Mary Stewart, of The Apple...
There, fixed it for you 😂
It ended. Thats what happened
The anime from Madhouse is really fun too.
Highlander 1 was great. 2 and 3 were a mess, best forgotten . 4 was ok. 5 was a completely convoluted mess that contradicted everything. Methos was not the oldest, otherwise he's the most idiotic if he lived thru the convergence the first time and didn't know or forgot it happened.
The plot point that has always bugged me is, how do the Immortals know how many of them there are? If a person doesn't know they're Immortal until they come back to life after dying, how is it known who may eventually become immortal? What causes the ability to become immortal to stop, so that there can be only one? If I'd written things, becoming immortal would have been a curse or a spell placed on clans centuries ago and that as the bloodline of these clan members was passed down, it slowly diluted, thus eventually bringing an end to the number of immortals that existed, thus allowing the Gathering to be.
At some point (it was cut from the final version) it was revealed that the immortals were all psychically connected through the energy that makes them immortal.
Connor was born as the strongest of them (Kurgan became stronger through killing other immortals but Connor had the most potential. That's why Kurgan knew about him and pursued him and Ramirez also sought him out.
@@davidm4566 OK, that makes sense. I can't understand why such an important plot point was done away with.
@@jediknightjairinaiki560 You're right, because otherwise how would Ramirez know about Conner all the way from Spain in the 1500s? And how would Kurgan know there was "one among them named Connor" who was immortal?
a stupid thing about highlander, is the same about jedi. there cant be a last one, as new ones can still be born!. also being the last one just to have kids and die of old age, is lame.
@@Veins1 That's why I think it should have been written that it was a curse or a spell cast upon clans from hundreds of years ago and that over time, with generation after generation it weakened where eventually it stopped existing.
They shoulda just reshot the original without queen music. Queen rocks but it was weird for a full soundtrack.
What? I loved the first Highlander.
Only prequels or interquels should be attempted on Highlander.
Highlander 2: Better than all of the woke modern shit.
So in this movie Mr.Krabs kills James Bond. Let that sink in.
ummmm, it shouldve never had a sequel.
I was so psyched when they made the second, then I watched it.
Same thing with Christopher Lambert's career. It went downhill fast. From good to trash
There can be only 1
The anime movie was awesome
I’m probably in the minority, but my favorite is Endgame
I really liked the TV show.
Highlander: a movie where a Frenchman plays a Scotsman and a Scottish actor plays a Spaniard, despite both having noticeable accents. When we get the inevitable Highlander remake I hope they deliberately miscast Gerard Butler and his heavy accent as a homage to the original.
There should have been "only"
"one" narrator. Around the 13 minute mark my ears started bleeding.
Some story’s should not be a franchise this is one of them the ending was final in my opinion
Its a one movie concept.
The immortals got old
why you guys talk funny, talk normal man
There should have been only one.
For some reason when I was a kid I really liked Highlander 2. Maybe because of my imagination and I didn’t care about the story really but 1 is def the best and the rest suck. 3 and 4 were god awful and I think just as bad as 2.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
Cause the rest of the movies are ass.
wtf is with this voiceover? like william shatner on triple speed
Why... do you... say this
What happened? It was a dumb idea to begin with.
👍👍👍🎥
Win winner 🐓🍛
Not sure how I feel about this new format of combining and re-releasing videos about the same series...It's nice to have all 3 WTF videos together, but we've seen the same content already...
Any recutting of Highlander II is pointless. Just go with the piece of crap that it is. How did they not think to make a prequel?
Hes not Spanish hes Egyptian