Highlander
1986
***
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Cast: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney, Alan North, Jon Polito, Sheila Gish, Hugh Quarshie, Christopher Malcolm
In 16th century Scotland, Connor MacLeod survives a mortal wound and remains immortal unless he is beheaded. After centuries of existence, he lives in modern day New York City, where he must battle the remaining villainous immortals. This pompous cult adventure has an intriguing and tragic premise, as Connor must watch his loved ones get old and die while he remains the same age through the centuries. Russell Mulcahy has visualised the story with some wacky camerawork and nice transitions, and the fitting soundtrack includes a number of songs by Queen. On the downside, Christopher Lambert is absolutely useless with accents and acting in general, and the film is often too silly to take seriously. The action set pieces indulge in all the worst aspects of 1980s cinema (screaming, shattered glass, and infernally loud sound effects), and the climactic battle is especially dull. Followed by several dreadful sequels.
