Highlander (1986)
★★½ — Highlander (1986)
Russell Mulcahy came to Highlander off the back of an enormously successful run directing music videos (he helmed landmark promos for Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, and Elton John, among others), and the film carries that background in almost every frame. Written by Gregory Widen from his own spec script, it was a British-American co-production backed by Thorn EMI at a budget of around nineteen million dollars, shot across Scotland, New York, and various European locations. That investment did not pay off at the American box office, where it flopped badly on release, though it found its devoted audience through home video and cable, particularly in Europe. French actor Christopher Lambert was cast as the Scottish immortal MacLeod, a choice that still raises eyebrows, while Sean Connery (a genuine Scot) was cast as the Spaniard.
Highlander has style, a killer Queen soundtrack, and the kind of immortal-sword-fighter-in-modern-times concept that’s pure 80s cheese gold, but let’s be honest: it’s not nearly as good as its cult following makes it out to be. Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod is… well, he’s not an actor so much as a very serious man standing still and squinting a lot. His line delivery is wooden enough to build another bridge, and the rest of the cast doesn’t fare much better, though Sean Connery, bless him, clearly showed up trying, complete with fake Scottish accent and leather pants, doing his best to elevate nonsense like “There can be only one.” The story (a centuries-old warrior preparing for “The Gathering” of immortals) is actually kind of cool in theory, and the Glasgow flashbacks have a raw, mythic charm. But the film itself is a mess, jumbled editing, inconsistent tone, terrible wigs, and fight scenes that range from decent to laughably bad. And the dialogue is cringe-worthy. It’s fun in a “so-bad-it’s-almost-good” way, and there’s undeniable nostalgia baked into its neon-lit, synth-heavy soul. But judged as an actual film the acting’s weak, the logic is thin, and the modern-day plot drags. Worth watching once for the vibe, the music, and the sheer audacity.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1986 | Watched: 2025-09-17
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