Worst sequel of all time
...and still unsurpassed.
shareAre you people insane? This was by far the greatest movie in the entire highlander series! With four being the absolute worst.
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Highlander 2 is the only movie I have ever walked out of.
Ever.
I didn't even ask for my money back. I wanted to get as far away from that steaming pile of reeking Krap as possible.
The reasons for its suckitude are legion.
But bad movies are nothing new. The reason for the shock it has on viewers is that they were impressed with the first one, and expected something similar. The first Highlander was one of my favorite movies of the time, and I just about burned out a VHS tape of it.
The second Highlander....
...the horror....
Words fail me.
I heard a rumor that Sean Connery offered to re-write the script when he found out that he couldn't get out of his contract to act in it. No idea how to verify, but I've heard it a couple of places.
WoodyTX
NOT A HIGHLANDER FAN?!?!?! NOT A HIGHLANDER FAN!?!?!? How can you even accuse me of not being a Highlander Fan! I am probably the biggest Highlander Movie Series Fan who posts here. I use the term 'Movie Series' because I could care less about the show.
You are obviously not very much of a Highlander fan if you just chose to almost completely disregard an entire movie just because it didn't please you.
A DREAM!?!? A DREAM!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! I don't even want to bother getting into explining why that is such a stupid idea. I've explained the entire movie series and how it all happens, I think it was on some thread on the Highlander 4 message board.
How can you even say that Highlander 4 was the second best? Did you watch it? Did you see how bad it was? Did you see how it contradicted all the other movies?
Reading your message just made me so incredibly angry because you obviously don't understand the Highlander universe at all!
How can you say someone else doesn't understand the Highlander "universe," when you yourself completely disregard the tv series because it doesn't please you? While the first movie was great, the tv series is what brought Highlander its most attention and fame, and that's why the 4th movie ties in with the show, and the second is completely out of synch with the rest of the Highlander "universe."
Face it, Omega, you are the only person in the world who actually thinks Highlander 2 was a decent movie. You talk about precedence, well, I give you "hindsight is 20/20" - as in, they realized the 2nd movie was crap, tried to fix it with the Renegade version, but otherwise completely ignored it throughout the rest of the Highlander universe.
Give it a break, already. Highlander 2 sucks, and doesn't belong within the rest of the Highlander "universe."
Okay the reason I disreagard the Highlander series is not because it doesn't please me, but because I've just never seen it. I don't know when it's on, even if it's still on for that matter. And if I did know when it is on, then I have better things to do with my time than make sure I'm home every week at a certain time to watch the show. Judging by what I've seen from Highlander: Endgame, the characters in the show aren't really that great anyways. When I speak of the Highlander universe I speak solely of the Highlander Movie Universe, I apologize for not clearing that up before. In my opinion, the show and the movie should have been kept as two completely different entities, because an attempt to connect the two destroys the entire movie timeline, and from what I've read through other people's posts, connecting the two universes seems to destroy the shows timeline as well.
As for the second movie, I have never actually seen the Renegade version, but from what I understand they leave out the planet Zeist. As I recall from the second movie, it is explained how Connor can bring back Ramirez in a flashback to life on Zeist. If that is cut out then I wonder how anyone will understand why Ramirez is suddenly back from the dead. This might not be right, since as I explained, I have not seen the Renegade version, so correct me if I am wrong.
I am a bit confused when you say that the televsion show brought Highlander its most attention and fame. I am not saying this isn't true, since I have no proof. However, when I bring up the subject of Highlander to just about anybody outside of these message boards here, and I mention the show, the standard responses are "There was a show?" or "Does anybody actually watch that?" At least just about everybody I've talked to has heard of the movie.
As for the only person who thinks Highlander 2 is a decent movie, a few years ago some friends and I had a special event that we called "Christopher Lambert Appreciation Night" where we watched three Christopher Lambert movies. I decided that we should watch Highlander 2, since we obviously would need to watch one Highlander movie, and number two is obviously the best. Not only did everyone there agree that Highlander 2 as a good movie, many people agreed that it was the best Highlander movie. So there are at least six of us who agree that Highlander 2 is a decent movie.
For the most part, the Special Edition (the latest incarnation of the "Renegade Version" director's cut) is vastly superior to the original cut. The editing is better, the restored scenes strengthen the film, and the new visual effects for the shield better fit the matte paintings and set design.
The Zeist scenes are still in the RV/SE, but have been altered. Lines have been changed or removed, the scene blends in with the opera better via creative transitions (a la the original film's flashbacks), and the trial scene is very, very different.
Most of this is to fit in with the Renegade Version idea to take away the "origin story" aspect of the film. The scenes now depict a lost Earth civilization from the distant past, much like Atlantis. Not all immortals come from this place, and therefore the Game (the TV series term for the immortal battle across the ages) has no connection to the exile of the rebels. In this interpretation, immortals lived amongst the people of this civilization, and were considered unholy by the Priests. The criminal immortals were exiled to the future, where they would be reborn and continue the Game. If one of the exiles won the Prize in the future, they would be allowed to return to the ancient civilization "with [their] freedom and faith restored."
Basically, Connor and Ramirez are the only two immortals from the first film who are confirmed to be from this place. In some ways, this change works, but it seems to create a paradox, and it's still extremely vague (to the point of being somewhat nonsensical).
Oh, I'm ready for it. Come on, bring it! -Cobra Starship, Snakes on A Plane
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>Are you people insane? This was by far the greatest movie in the entire
>highlander series!
I guess I am insane after all! Sorry, but my opinion is that Highlander II: The Quickening is an absolutely terrible film. The Renegade Version doesn't change that... absolutely godawful and stupid. It was torturous trying to sit there and make it through the movie as I think the first one is silly but fun and highly entertaining.
What's more painful is that this movie had a few things going for it... Sean Connery, John C. McGinley, and Michael Ironside are favorites and generally great in supporting roles; however, Connery is the only one who's even moderately entertaining. In fact, the scene in the clothing store is the only one that I really enjoyed. Stewart Copeland, one of my favorite musicians, does the music (he did the music for Rumblefish - one of the best scores of the 80s in my opinion.)
Unfortunately the story and execution are absolutely pathetic. I'd tear it apart, but it really is so completely self-evident and covered so well by others that... oh god, it's just horrible. Then the acting is terrible... Ironside's performance is a total joke as Katana is just a stupid villain, McGinley acts retarded and well below his typical ability, and Lambert has never been able to act at all. Connery walks through the part knowing that his presence has no legitimacy in the story and he's serving only to put butts in seats.
This was a really incredibly stupid movie. The only one that's worth anything is the first because it was an interesting, original idea carried off with a modicum of skill. Even it could have been a far better movie, but it's a fun, campy movie that serves as good entertainment. Highlander II is just painful. If that makes me insane, then so be it.
i can then think of only 2 movies that top this one in suck factor: battlefield earth and alien resurection....thats right i said alien resurection
shareMy thinking is this: that 'Endgame' is the sequel to the series, NOT the films; the second film should be struck off the record and they should re-name 'Highlander III: The Sorceror' to just 'Highlander: The Sorceror' so that this would be the sequel to the original film, thus taking away the pitiful excuse for a film that was 'The Quickening' and also keeping continuity with a decent sequel
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE highlander 1 , 2, endgame, i HATE HATE HAAAATE highlander 3, its pointless, it just seems to tacked together at the last second.
I WAS IN THE POOL, I WAS IN THE POOL
"highlander 3...[is] pointless"
Amen to that. Rather than trying to follow the second film, or trying to tie into the television series, it had to be stubborn and declare itself the only sequel! And then, on top of that, it's practically a remake of the first film! And if that's not bad enough, it's inconsistent with the ending of the original!
Oh, I'm ready for it. Come on, bring it! -Cobra Starship, Snakes on A Plane
Special Edition is an improvement on the previous versions of H2, but I don't think they can ever remedy how inane the whole story is.
I wish they would have a Zeist on/off option when you watch the movie. As much as it sucked, it still makes more sense than the past/future nonsense. Besides, it looks dumb when Katana shoots down into the subway supposedly from "time travel." Not to mention some scenes, particularily at Brenda's grave, are ridiculously vague dialogues with the Zeist references removed. Louise's attempt to "understand" The Game is nonsense without the Zeist context and implies that all immortals do come from the ancient past civilization, even though the trial appears to suggest otherwise. If they ever do another cut I say put Zeist back in. I don't think anybody (certainly not the producers) considers it canon with the references removed, so why bother?
That said, they should also put the Quickening references back in the film as well.
...and when you retire: your very own jukebox!