Highlander: The Source

Jeez, why do so many people have a suizure over this movie, it isn't that bad. The only real critism that I can offer is that this movie really needed a better bad guy like Clancy Brown in it without the road runner cartoon character parts; a real bad guy that other than being the toughest on the block who doesn't act weird.

This is the worst Highlander movie ever, and a pretty bad movie in general. Ouch! What an insult to the originals.

I am a long time fan of the Highlander - the movies and the series. This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was cheaply and poorly made and the story line and special effects were TERRIBLE. I think they must have done it because they couldn't get jobs after the series ended. It was a huge disappointment.

Highlander: The Source is probably going to be studied in film business master's degree programs eventually. Here they had a movie franchise of very loyal fans that would have watched almost anything with the name *Highlander* attached to it. Somehow, they managed to destroy that. This movie might very well be the guide to how to destroy a movie cash-cow.

Since most of the people who have watched the last quartet of Highlander sequels are hardcore fans, it's no surprise that that's mostly who sought out the latest sequel. And they decided, after a half dozen movies, to apparently target this movie towards people who know nothing about the Highlander story. I liked the first Highlander but I am more of a casual fan. Regardless, I can see where hard-core fans are coming from with their low ratings.

Recounting the plot is almost a complete waste of time. Like all Highlander movies, the various immortals are in factions battling it out to be *the one*. There are also some added story elements that involve the universe shifting for the ultimate showdown. The story attempts to weave all the sub-plots of the prior movies and tie them all into the conclusion of the movie.

Part of the intrigue with the original movie was the mystery and magic surrounding the premise. After all it is a fantasy movie, albeit one with a deeper premise than others. Explaining why and how there are immortals and why they battle each other for power is a hard sell. Leaving some of those things unsaid allowed fans to *fill in the blanks*.

Still, here not only have they decided to repeat lots of the back-story, to the point of nausea, they also decided that it was necessary to explain ALL the mysteries of the series and tie them in a neat little bow.

Overall they alienate core fans with this technique in two ways. First of all, many of the details of the series seem to be contradicted by some of what is done to conclude this movie. And second of all, all of the joy and mystery of the franchise has been eliminated by an oversimplified ending. But even still, getting there is not enjoyable because the dialogue and plot development are sub-par.

Another thing that makes this movie difficult to swallow are special effects that can only be described as lacking. In fact, some of the make-up and costumes make some of these characters look more comical than immortal. One of the characters (if you watch it, see if you can guess which one) looks as if he is wearing some kind of cheap wig.

Like I said, I liked the first Highlander, but wasn't a religious follower of all the sequels. The whole "There can be only one" theme seems to contradict the idea of six sequels to me. Still, some of those follow-up movies weren't bad, even with new actors and other changes. But this one almost feels like a completely different group of people were involved at every step of the process.


Conclusion

If you know nothing about Highlander or the back story and just want something to kill two hours with, this movie might satisfy your needs for mindless entertainment. Those who are looking for unintended humor might find something to like here too, though it's not universally bad start to finish.

If you are demanding and picky with sci-fi or fantasy movies and frequently notice when mistakes make it harder for you to accept the fantasy, you will probably want to avoid this. And if you are a die-hard fan of the Highlander series, you definitely want to avoid this one. Though it might be tempting to see it, it will only upset you.

Avoid.

I am a huge Highlander fan and was very happy "Highlander: The Source" came out to bring closure to the movies and various series. All I can say is, what a disapointment. This movie deviates in almost every important way from everything that was good about Highlander.

Put this in the same pile as the second Highlander movie, and pretend it doesn't exist.

NOT RECCOMMENDED!