Highlander II unused ideas

[Noddy]

Highlander II: The Quickening is a much-maligned film, not least due to the fact that its production was severely butchered by the studio, resulting in a story that largely made no sense, and even contradicted important details of the previous film. Well a while ago now, I was very interested to read that the original script for Highlander II had stronger ties with the first film. In the script, I believe it was made clear that when Connor and Ramirez were exiled from Zeist to Earth, their consciousnesses were literally reincarnated in new bodies on Earth, with Ramirez being reborn in ancient Egypt, and Connor reborn in Scotland in the 16th century AD. Furthermore, it was shown how, once reincarnated on Earth, they would have no memories of their previous existence on Zeist, but whoever eventually gained the Prize would have those memories restored to them.

Also in the script (so I've heard) were scenes where the Kurgan would briefly reappear, shown as having been sent to Earth by General Katana to track down and kill Connor and Ramirez. Katana was then shown watching, via some kind of techno-magical device, the final battle between Connor and the Kurgan at the end of the first film, and it's when he sees Connor victorious that he decides to send the two assassins to kill him, as seen in the film itself.

 

[Starkers]

To be honest I don't think any of that would have made Highlander II any better. Some films just don't warrant a sequel and Highlander is one of them. Setting aside the fact that there isn't a hint of a sequel possibility at the end of the original film (he's killed all the other immortals and gained the prize after all!) there's the fact that, let's be honest here, all things being equal Highlander shouldn't have been as brilliant as it was, so it was highly unlikely you could get the same spark again, even if you brought Connery back.

 

[sojourner]

Yeah, the whole Zeist concept was what destroyed it more than anything. Those couple of added scenes wouldn't have helped.

 

[Reverend]

Indeed. Retconing the film they're making a sequel to is usually a sure sign that the film makers: A) Don't like or understand the first film. B) Really want to be making a totally different film. And/or C) Have no idea what they're doing. Honestly I'm not surprised the studio messed with the final cut.

It boggles the mind just how many times they tried to recapture the magic of the first film. The results varied wildly from just plain mediocre to downright awful. Yes that includes the TV series. I'm sorry, I know it has a loyal following, but after watching about a dozen episodes, I just don't see it.

The short lived Raven spin-off looked like it had sort of the right idea, (never did watch it properly) but I gather the execution just fell flat.

 

[Turtletrekker]

There should have only been one.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is as good as it gets when it comes to spin-offs, an anime feature from the director of Ninja Scroll. Of course when the US distros got their hands on it, they butchered all of the story out of it, concentrating on the animated sex and violence. But it's still watchable even for all that.

 

[Reverend]

Yeah, Highlander is one of the few properties that is better off rebooted than continued. I mean the first movie makes it very clear that at the end, Conner was the *last* immortal standing and that he wasn't even immortal anymore.

Don't remember much about the anime, but I recall thinking it was good...but not much else. So by definition I suppose I'd have to call that one pretty inoffensive and forgettable.

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what was the TV series's excuse for there being what looked like hundreds of the buggers that somehow missed the gathering?

 

[Hound of UIster]

As I understand it, they retconned it as being only a small gathering of immortals and not actually the GATHERING.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I quite enjoyed the second movie, was quite a fun movie, loved Connery's death scene, bagpipe music and all.

 

[Triskelion]

I don't see the second film as a failure. I see the TV series - and Adrian Paul's portrayal - as a tremendous achievement.

I still mourn Tessa every time I hear "Dust in the Wind."

 

[Skywalker]

As I understand it, they retconned it as being only a small gathering of immortals and not actually the GATHERING.

To be fair, the series was always presented as an alternate universe, rather than a direct continuation of the first movie. But yeah, in the series' continuity, the events of the movie were just considered a series of battles between a few Immortals in a very short span of time--not entirely implausible, IMO, given the size of and the amount of people in New York City.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

To be fair, the series was always presented as an alternate universe, rather than a direct continuation of the first movie.

As are ALL of the film sequels, aren't they? I don't believe any one of them is totally consistent with any other.

 

[Unicron]

Honestly, I always liked the series best. Perhaps I'm just weird, but I've always felt the original Highlander was kind of meh. Not a bad movie, by any means, but not the epic that some people feel it to be. YMMV.

 

[Trekker4747]

I must be one of the few who actually liked Highlander 2. Yeah it had a LOT of massive, huge, problems in it and it didn't jive with the first one at all and a lot of left me really scratching my head. (Why come to attack McCloud? Why not just let him die from old age? Why even given him the opportunity to regain immortality?) But it was a movie I basically liked. Though anything with Sean Connery in it is likely to be watchable on some level or another.

But that's not to say the movie doesn't have a LOT of problems.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Highlander....awesome concept, awesome potential....completely ruined by idiotic decisions and idiotic people in the position to MAKE those decisions. The series was as good as it got once it hit its stride, and then the wheels came off in season 5.

I've hoped for years that it would be rebooted. Put it in the hands of completely new people who make a pledge to cut the bullshit. No post-apocalypse crap. No 80's style hyperfantasy. Jettison the rock music. No super-crazy big bad bent on world domination(I understand there has to be a bad guy, but make him or her within reason, tortured by his/her own demons, whatever).

Just focus on what made the series a success...examining what it's like to be immortal and forced to fight others to stay alive, and how you change over time while those you love die around you, or how you maintain relationships with other immortals despite knowing that you might eventually have to fight them. Delve into the mythology. Have a rebooted Methos character. Talk about the Watchers.

There's so much potential there for an interesting TV series or film series. It's a shame that the movies never lived up to it.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Honestly, I always liked the series best. Perhaps I'm just weird, but I've always felt the original Highlander was kind of meh. Not a bad movie, by any means, but not the epic that some people feel it to be. YMMV.

The series did the concept justice once it hit maturity TNG-style. The original movie, while pretty good, was plagued with too much....um....80's. It looks like a music video in the modern sequences and the style was way too over the top.

 

[Skywalker]

To be fair, the series was always presented as an alternate universe, rather than a direct continuation of the first movie.

As are ALL of the film sequels, aren't they? I don't believe any one of them is totally consistent with any other.

Sort of. Highlander II and Highlander: The Final Dimension were both treated as direct sequels to the first movie (with The Final Dimension ignoring Highlander II, for obvious reasons), with both acknowledging the fact that the Gathering happened, but neither has anything to do with the other.

In Highlander II, Connor was the last Immortal until General Katana sent two of his cronies to Earth, whose Quickenings rejuvenated Connor. In The Final Dimension, Connor believed he was the last Immortal until an archeological expedition unearthed Kane and his two henchmen, who were trapped in a cave-in that transpired during a Quickening. So technically they came up with explanations (albeit very stupid or lame ones) for why more Immortals showed up after Connor supposedly won the Prize in the first movie.

The last movie, Highlander: Endgame, exists in the same continuity as the TV series and is a continuation of that universe.

Honestly, I always liked the series best. Perhaps I'm just weird, but I've always felt the original Highlander was kind of meh. Not a bad movie, by any means, but not the epic that some people feel it to be. YMMV.

I completely agree with you. I enjoy the first movie, but the series is what really got me into Highlander. I've always been more of a fan of Duncan MacLeod than Connor. The series could be pretty cheesy at times, but overall it was a lot of fun, and did a good job of exploring the concept of Immortals and the Game.

 

[sojourner]

Weren't there 2 movies based on the series?

 

[Unicron]

There were, but only one of them (Endgame) fits in nicely and also brings Connor back to tie elements of the two halves together in some way. The Source is pretty awful.

 

[Skywalker]

I actually completely forgot about The Source. Wow, I guess that whole 'pretend something doesn't exist' thing actually works.