Princes of New York
“I have an eye for the underappreciated” that
line from my JACKIE BROWN review applies to many of my personal favorite films
including 9 (2009), PAPRIKA (2006), THE NAKED GUN (1988) and in my opinion THE
greatest fantasy film from the ‘80s: HIGHLANDER (1986).
The setting: New York City. The event: THE
GATHERING. The time when all of the remaining immortals come together, and
battle to the last, to fight for THE PRIZE. Among them is a man by the name of
Connor Macloud, who like many of the others has lived many secret lives waiting
for this very moment. As the Gathering unfolds, this draws the attention of
NYPD forensics specialist, Brenda Wyatt, who soon gets caught in-between, but does not hesitate to find out the
truth. What will she find? Something spectacular or something deadly, in the
end there can be only one!
HIGHLANDER is in a word: simple. A simple
premise, simple characters, but amazing action, from beginning to end. While
calling the characters simple may sound disheartening, they’re anything but
that, due to the performances in this film. The real show-stealers are Sean
Connery (Macloud’s mentor) and Clancy Brown (the film’s big baddie), both put
in a great amount of effort into their parts and have such charisma you can’t
help but enjoy every second of them. That isn’t to say Macloud himself is not
horrible. Christopher Lambert, who plays the Scottish immortal, has this
other-worldly presence that makes him unpredictable and gives off the
impression that he has seen A LOT of stuff in his life, despite his weird
accent (Fun Fact: prior to filming, Lambert didn’t speak any English).
So, if you’re a LORD OF THE RINGS fan (or a
fantasy fan in general) and are looking for something different, then you
should definitely check out HIGHLANDER. (P.S. most of the songs in the film are
performed by Queen!)
Final Rating:
HIGHLANDER is available on Blu-Ray and DVD,
online and at your local video store. I’d recommend buying the “director’s cut”
(which is actually the European version of the movie), there’s really no other
version of this film I’d rather watch, for alternate recommendations, I first
point you towards another fantasy flick from the ‘80s, THE PRINCE’S BRIDE, a
classic love story with amusing swordfights and hilarity abound and lastly I
recommend checking out, JOHN WICK, a movie with an over-used revenge plot with
action that is nothing short of astounding.
Until Next Time, Don’t Lose Your Head…
