Why Highlander Endgame is Great

[Hatter76]

Much Better

[Hatter76]

I went to see this movie 12-13 times Theatrically, I'm certain I must have made a contribution at the Box Office!

[dubiousbystander]

You're winning me over.

[Midnight Rambler]

It's my favorite Highlander movie besides the original for all the same reasons listed above.

[Andrew NDB]

I am confused, though. David you wrote: none had Kell's point of view on The Game—that it was something to be prolonged forever. <-- I don't remember that being his view. Did I miss something? Probably. Kell to me was appallingly one-dimensional.

Not really. Guys like Kurgan, Kane, and Katana... those are mind-numbingly one-dimensional. They have no plan beyond, "Rarrrhhrr... kill all of the Immortals! I want the Prize! And I'm eeevil doing eeevil things!" And that's fine, because that's their thing.

Kell? He's like the only film villain that is multi-dimensional and has motivations other than "Raahhhrrr, power! Gimme teh Prize!!!" Which isn't to say he's a better villain than, say, the Kurgan... it just means there's more to him than that.

[David McMurdo]

I am confused, though. David you wrote: none had Kell's point of view on The Game—that it was something to be prolonged forever. <-- I don't remember that being his view. Did I miss something? Probably. Kell to me was appallingly one-dimensional. I often use the phrase "Phenomenal cosmic power, itty-bitty living space" when describing characters like him. This big buildup about how dangerous and so forth he is, and his existence revolves around anonymously destroying everyone Connor connects with. Except Duncan because there was a TV series, and except Heather and Rachel because they had lived to grow old in the original movie.

Haha, you're right. What I'm referring to is something from a deleted scene where Kate asks Kell when he's going to stop doing what he's doing and try to win the Prize, to which he replies that "it never stops". When she reminds him of "there can be only one", he replies with, "what fun would that be?" I guess I've just watched the extra material so much that it has now become a part of the way that I view the film, though there are still shades of this element in the official release like when Kell tells Connor, "It's never over, Connor Macleod. Living is what matters, and you will live with this. Count on it."

[dubiousbystander]

I am confused, though. David you wrote: none had Kell's point of view on The Game—that it was something to be prolonged forever. <-- I don't remember that being his view. Did I miss something? Probably. Kell to me was appallingly one-dimensional. I often use the phrase "Phenomenal cosmic power, itty-bitty living space" when describing characters like him. This big buildup about how dangerous and so forth he is, and his existence revolves around anonymously destroying everyone Connor connects with. Except Duncan because there was a TV series, and except Heather and Rachel because they had lived to grow old in the original movie.

[Andrew NDB]

This forum is empty just now, and since Highlander Endgame is my favourite thing in the entire Highlander franchise, I thought I'd post the first topic here. Here are the reasons that I love Endgame so much.

1: It brings Connor and Duncan Macleod together for the second and last time.

2: After the misguided Highlander 2 and the weak remake that was Highlander 3, Endgame makes a serious attempt to establish an official canon and tie everything together.

3: It's unapologetically Highlander. Though there are a few throwaway lines, it doesn't invest much time or effort in trying to make the film comprehensible to people who've never seen Highlander before. Some times this is a weakness, but at a certain point after a mythology is so well developed you just have to shrug and get on with continuing the story.

4: It has a great Celtic spirituality/New Agey feel to it. Its mood is very melancholic. And I enjoy that.

5: It has my favourite soundtrack of the franchise and it contributes massively to the aforementioned tone. I love The Song of the Pooka especially.

6: It contains every classic Highlander element—sword fights, romance, tragedy, flashbacks, Watchers, etc. When you think about it, it's the most Highlander of Highlander stories.

7: It has the best sword-fighting in the franchise, except a few episodes of the series, arguably. and that's probably because the same sword-master was involved. In the first three Highlander films the sword-fighting is very "Hollywood". Not that it's utterly genuine in Endgame, but it's certainly much better.

8: It has the best sex scene in the franchise. I don't mean in terms of how explicit it is (though that too), but I mean in terms of the fact that it utilises the classic Highlander flashback element to portray something really unique. It's really the best way to go when thinking about any element of a film—if you have to have that obligatory scene (and you usually do), then try and think about how you could do it in a way that's unique to that particular film or franchise. They achieved that here, I feel.

9: Kell is a great villain. Though there have obviously been plenty of immortals who don't want to die, none had Kell's point of view on The Game—that it was something to be prolonged forever. In many ways he's the anti-Connor. Whereas Connor is haunted by memories of his past and has grown tired of life, Kell just can't get enough of it and wants to ensure that it really does go on forever. The religious side of his character is a little unclear. There was a cut plot element where he is building temples all over the place. That would've been an interesting aspect of Kell to see fleshed out a bit more. Regardless, I like how he clearly takes God and life itself seriously, and how he actually has a serious agenda. Katana from Highlander 2 and Kane from Highlander 3 were really just weak Kurgan clones—they were just chaotic characters. But Kell was something different entirely.

10: Suspicious JVC signs aside, I thought they gave Connor a great sendoff. A very emotional scene.


So those are my main reasons for loving Endgame. Agree? Disagree? Have your own reasons?

I've always agreed with your buddy Quen Tin on this. Gun to my head, 2 hoursish to relive something Highlander forever? I'd probably choose Endgame. I'd probably just wish I could forget the whole TV show before I saw it... not because the TV show is bad (it's great!) but because when you come into it after seeing that, it's pretty disappointing.

[David McMurdo]

This forum is empty just now, and since Highlander Endgame is my favourite thing in the entire Highlander franchise, I thought I'd post the first topic here. Here are the reasons that I love Endgame so much.

1: It brings Connor and Duncan Macleod together for the second and last time.

2: After the misguided Highlander 2 and the weak remake that was Highlander 3, Endgame makes a serious attempt to establish an official canon and tie everything together.

3: It's unapologetically Highlander. Though there are a few throwaway lines, it doesn't invest much time or effort in trying to make the film comprehensible to people who've never seen Highlander before. Some times this is a weakness, but at a certain point after a mythology is so well developed you just have to shrug and get on with continuing the story.

4: It has a great Celtic spirituality/New Agey feel to it. Its mood is very melancholic. And I enjoy that.

5: It has my favourite soundtrack of the franchise and it contributes massively to the aforementioned tone. I love The Song of the Pooka especially.

6: It contains every classic Highlander element—sword fights, romance, tragedy, flashbacks, Watchers, etc. When you think about it, it's the most Highlander of Highlander stories.

7: It has the best sword-fighting in the franchise, except a few episodes of the series, arguably, and that's probably because the same sword-master was involved. In the first three Highlander films the sword-fighting is very "Hollywood". Not that it's utterly genuine in Endgame, but it's certainly much better.

8: It has the best sex scene in the franchise. I don't mean in terms of how explicit it is (though that too), but I mean in terms of the fact that it utilises the classic Highlander flashback element to portray something really unique. It's really the best way to go when thinking about any element of a film—if you have to have that obligatory scene (and you usually do), then try and think about how you could do it in a way that's unique to that particular film or franchise. They achieved that here, I feel.

9: Kell is a great villain. Though there have obviously been plenty of immortals who don't want to die, none had Kell's point of view on The Game—that it was something to be prolonged forever. In many ways he's the anti-Connor. Whereas Connor is haunted by memories of his past and has grown tired of life, Kell just can't get enough of it and wants to ensure that it really does go on forever. The religious side of his character is a little unclear. There was a cut plot element where he is building temples all over the place. That would've been an interesting aspect of Kell to see fleshed out a bit more. Regardless, I like how he clearly takes God and life itself seriously, and how he actually has a serious agenda. Katana from Highlander 2 and Kane from Highlander 3 were really just weak Kurgan clones—they were just chaotic characters. But Kell was something different entirely and that makes him more distinct. Though the first three antagonists clearly want to kill Connor, they don't seem to be taking it personally. Kell on the other hand very clearly has a genuine hatred for both him and Duncan. Then there's his disciples. He's just a cool and interesting character to me. I'd have liked it if he were a little more developed.

10: Suspicious JVC signs aside, I thought they gave Connor a great sendoff. A very emotional scene.


So those are my main reasons for loving Endgame. Agree? Disagree? Have your own reasons?