Highlander II: The Quickening
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| Highlander II: The Quickening | |
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| Directed by | Russell Mulcahy |
| Produced by | Guy Collins Peter S. Davis E.C. Monell William N. Panzer |
| Written by | Gregory Widen Brian Clemens William N. Panzer Peter Bellwood |
| Starring | Christopher Lambert Sean Connery Virginia Madsen Michael Ironside |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 1991 USA |
| Running time | 91 min / 109 min (director's cut) / Argentina:92 min |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Highlander |
| Followed by | Highlander III: The Final Dimension |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The second installment to the "Highlander" film series, released on November 1, 1991.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
August, 1995: News broadcasts explained that the ozone layer would be completely gone in a matter of months, and that the ozone hole had been significantly expanded and covers most of planet Earth. In Africa millions have died, due to the effects the unfiltered sunlight has had on them. Among them is Connor's wife, Brenda Wyatt MacLeod, who made him promise that he would "do something to stop this."
1999: Connor had become the supervisor of a scientific team attempting to create an electromagnetic shield, which will cover the planet and protect it from the Sun's radiation. Headed by Dr. Allan Neyman (Allan Rich), they succeeded in their goal, and Earth gained its artificial ozone layer. MacLeod and Neyman were proud in having apparently saved humanity, and believed they would be remembered for a thousand years. However, the shield had the side-effect of condemning the planet to a state of constant night.
2024: According to a narration by Connor, twenty-five years of darkness has caused humanity to lose hope and fall into a decline. The Shield has fallen under the control of "Shield Corporation," and its current head David Blake (John C. McGinley), taxing for its services in pursuit of profit. A number of terrorists have emerged trying to take down the Shield. Among them is Louise Marcus (Virginia Madsen), a former employee of the Corporation. Meanwhile, Connor has since aged into a frail old man, and expects himself to eventually die of natural causes.
As Connor watches an opera, Ramirez frees his mind to see a forgotten event of his past. Five hundred years earlier, on the planet Zeist, the last meeting is held between the members of a rebellion against the rule of General Katana (Michael Ironside). The rebellion's leader, Ramirez, chooses "a man of great destiny" from among them, Connor, to carry out a mission against Katana. At this moment, Katana and his troops attack, and the rebellion is crushed. Katana orders his men to capture "Ramirez" and "MacLeod" alive, and kill the rest of the rebels. The two captives are put on trial by Zeist's priests, who sentence them to be exiled from Zeist and reborn on Earth as Immortals in pursuit of the Prize. Winning the Prize gives the victor the choice to grow old and die on Earth or return to Zeist. Katana is unsatisfied with their decision, but the sentence is executed, leading to the events of the previous film.
Back on Earth of 2024, Louise Marcus discovers that the ozone layer has been reformed, and the Shield is no longer needed. The Corporation is aware of this development, but has chosen to hide it from the general public in order to maintain its main source of profit. Meanwhile on Zeist, General Katana decides that Connor cannot be allowed to return to Zeist and sends his Immortal henchmen Corda (Pete Antico) and Reno (Peter Bucossi) to Earth to kill him.
Louise manages to reach Connor first, and asks for his help in taking down the Shield. To Louise's disappointment, she finds the passionate person she once admired to have grown into "a tired old man." MacLeod explains to Louise that he is dying, and expresses his disapproval of terrorism. Before Connor and Louise can finish their conversation, Corda and Reno locate them and attack. MacLeod soon manages to decapitate them both, and in the process regains his youthful appearance. While he absorbs their energy, Connor summons Ramirez.
In Glencoe, Scotland, the location of his death, Ramirez is revived. He finds himself on a theatrical stage during a performance of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Meanwhile, Connor has found a new lover in Louise Marcus. He attempts to explain to her the concepts of his Immortality, but she finds them confusing. Elsewhere, General Katana arrives in New York, and proceeds to spread havoc.
Both Ramirez and Katana soon adapt to their new environment. Ramirez's earrings are apparently valuable enough to pay for the new costume he acquires from the "finest and oldest" tailor's shop in Scotland, and for an airplane ticket to New York. On the other hand, Katana finds New York much to his liking. After entertaining himself for a while, Katana manages to locate his old enemy. Their first encounter in centuries proves to be indecisive, though.
Soon enough, Connor is also reached by Ramirez. The latter joins MacLeod and Louise in their plan to take down the Shield. Katana had apparently predicted this, and so forges an uneasy alliance with David Blake. The conflict between the two sets of allies eventually leads to the subsequent deaths of Dr. Allan Neyman (sentenced to a maximum security prison as a "traitor"), Ramirez (sacrificing himself to save Connor and Louise), David Blake (tossed out of a window by Katana), and General Katana (decapitated by Connor in their final confrontation). MacLeod succeeds in taking down the Shield by using the combined energies of his final Quickening from General Katana. Louise sees the stars for the first time in her life. Then Connor claims his Prize by returning to Zeist with Louise accompanying him (only in the syndicated TV cut of the film...in the theatrical and DVD versions, both remain on Earth).
[edit] Criticism
Upon release, this film was met with harsh criticism by both critics and audiences. Fans of the original film were less than pleased with the concept of Immortals being aliens from Planet Zeist and with the revival of Ramirez, whose dramatic death scene in the previous film was considered among its highlights. This is often viewed as incongruous with the original movie.
Apart from being inconsistent with the 1986 original's storyline, audiences found the conflict between the rebellion and General Katana to be too reminiscent of similar events in other contemporary science fiction films. Critics and audiences alike pointed out that the characters suffered from a lack of motivation, an example often offered is that no reason was provided for Katana's sudden interest in Connor after apparently losing contact with him for 506 years, and his insistence on killing his old enemy while he could wait for him to die without outside interference. Also, the two 'alien' Immortal protagonists on Zeist, have their Scottish and Spanish names that they will have on Earth. A large number of fans consider it to be the weakest link of the franchise.
Highlander II's apparent failure has been seen by some as a result of the bonding company's interference with the work of director Russell Mulcahy, who personally hated the final product so much he walked out of the film's world premiere after viewing its first 15 minutes. For similar reasons, Christopher Lambert threatened to walk out of the project when it was nearing fruition, but he didn't, due to contract obligation.
One joke from fans of the first film is a suggested tagline based on a phrase from the films: "Highlander II: There should have been only one!"
[edit] Alternate Versions
In the late 1990s, Mulcahy made a director's cut version known as Highlander II: The Renegade Version. The film was reconstructed largely from scratch, with certain scenes removed and others added back in, and the entire sequence of events changed. All references to the Immortals being aliens from another planet were eliminated; instead, this cut reveals that the Immortals are from an unspecified, distant past on Earth, banished by priests into random locations in the future to keep the Prize from being won in their lifetime (the option to return to the past is an option offered in addition to the mystical Prize of the first film). This version is generally considered a major improvement on the theatrical release, and obtained a far more favourable reception. Nevertheless, the events of both versions were generally ignored by the subsequent films and series.
Still not completely satisfied, producers William Panzer and Peter Davis decided to revisit Highlander II once again in 2004. Dubbed the Special Edition, this cut was nearly identical to the Renegade Version, but with a few alterations. The most obvious change is the introduction of new CGI special effects throughout the film, including a now-blue shield as originally intended. Other significant changes include a small piece of voiceover work by Lambert and the inexplicable removal of a short scene near the end of the film in which Louise Marcus holds off a group of TSC guards with a gun.
[edit] External links
- Highlander II: The Quickening at the Internet Movie Database
- Highlander II: The Quickening at All Movie Guide
- Humorous Review of Highlander II: The Quickening
