HIGHLANDER

Rated R for violence and sexuality
Miramax Films/Dimension Films
Director: Doug Arnowkowski
Staring Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert
Rating:

For diehard Highlander fans, the wait is over. Christopher Lambert returns in this third sequel to the original Highlander(1986) Previous sequels, Highlander II: The Quickening - 1991, and Highlander - The Final Dimension - 1994 left fans either disappointed or confused. End Game doesn't commit the same errors. In fact you'll find that the first movie and the TV series, Highlander, flow together with End Game just as nicely as promised by producer, Bill Panzer. It's almost as though we could forget (and happily so) The Quickening ever existed.

End Game will clear up some questions the series prompted. Like where Conner's been for the past ten years. The cool, detached Conner has a little more emotion and vulnerability attached this time around. More of his history is revealed including a secret he's been shouldering through the centuries. The plot hinges on this secret (and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is - go see the movie if you want to find out). Original cast members from Highlander make a come back in a few flashbacks and add a more layers to the story.

What would a Highlander movie be without it's trademark flashbacks? You won't find a shortage of them in End Game. The movie is peppered with memories of both Duncan and Conner. It's these sequences that really make the movie. There are some spectacular aerial views of Scotland. Throughout the story the Highland tie remains strong. How Duncan and Conner meet is finally revealed. Along with some clever scenes that show the camaraderie and attachment the two immortals have for each other. Watch these scenes closely. You'll need them to make the pieces fall together. And enjoy them. They're fun. When else can you visit several countries and time periods in a matter of 90 minutes.

True to the Highlander legend, there's no shortage of fight scenes in End Game. Many styles of sword fighting are depicted. Claymores, basket hilted broadswords, rapiers, katanas and other contemporary swords. Adrian Paul, hasn't gone soft since his departure from the series. He's just as tough as always and takes on some pretty stiff competition.

As a long time Highlander fan, I must say I enjoyed the movie. It had all the elements you'd expect from Highlander, a little more character definition and a contemptuous villain. Somehow I did leave the theater a bit let down. The event the plot hinged on seemed artificially inflated. Made a bit more important than it should have been given the hundreds of years worth of happenings in the mean time. But, overall, the movie put a smile on my face, especially the realization that End Game doesn't mean the end at all.