I wasn't sure what to expect revisiting Highlander 3 after 20 years. When I was about 11 I was somewhat obsessed with the Highlander movies (back when there was only three and a tv series that was even too cheesy for me), but except for the first one which I have rewatched every once in a while I had abandoned all hope for this franchise around the time the forth one came around, so I buried it along with other films from my childhood that aged badly and never looked back.
I am glad I ultimately gave highlander 3 another chance though in a random Christopher Lambert marathon.
Granted the story doesn't make a lick of sense and is nothing but the flimsiest of excuses to save a valueable property after the disaster that was Highlander 2, but a lot of the core strengths that made the original so compelling are still here. Fantastic visuals, an odd but unique performance by Christopher Lambert and a surprisingly touching emotional core that keeps it all together. Generally this is a very appealing movie to look at. Whereas the original was inspired by the videoclip aesthetic of the eighties, Highlander 3 takes after the early nineties action and thriller genre. Harsh shadows, highly saturated Oranges and Blues, fluent camera movements and the trademark transitions between past and present from the original. After the dreadful style of the second one that looked like cheap direct to video trash this is a nice return to form.
While the romance doesn't work quite as well as it did in the first one, there isn't too much focus on it, and yet it's still used well to drive home just how sad and lonely immortality would be. I always call Highlander the best vampire movie, because it manages to convey that tragedy much better than almost any vampire movie, safe maybe for interview with the vampire.
This doesn't feel like the cash grab it could well have been. It smells of fanfilm, albeit a very competent one and had it ended there it would have been a very satisfying conclusion to a flawed series, tying up all the plot points of the story in a nice bow.
So far this review sounds rather glowing, so other than the obvious reason that there should have never been any sequels, what drags this movie back down to a 5 out of 10? Well, the former doesn't help admittedly, and the script seems rushed and unoriginal to the point where this feels more like a soft reboot than a sequel. Also, and Highlander fans are going to hate me for this: for a franchise based solely on kickass swordfights the swordfights in all the Highlander movies are actually really bad and awkward. Some of this can actually be attributed to Christopher Lambert's bad eyesight so I will cut him some slack, but even when there's a double involved (sometimes rather obviously as in the finale here) it always looks like two dudes just swatting metal sticks against another, not as it should, like the dangerous blade dance of two masters who have honed their craft for centuries. In Highlander 3 they at least try to edit around these flaws. It works a little bit...
The music isn't bad, it has a few good moments but of course it can't compete with the absolute juggernaut that was the Queen score of the first one.
Another problem is Mario van Peebles' performance. He looks freaking cool and in a different story his character could have worked but the over the top silliness clashes with the much more interesting character drama. It feels too much like he's trying to mimic Clancy Brown's iconic performance from the first Highlander, but even that one felt more grounded and layered. The unoriginal script is bubbling through the cracks here, as so many villain-defining moments are basically copied from the original.
Ultimately this is a deeply flawed movie but still very satisfying if you grew up with the original. It feels like coming home after a long time. There's a lot more mold than you remember, but it's still cozy.
I am glad I ultimately gave highlander 3 another chance though in a random Christopher Lambert marathon.
Granted the story doesn't make a lick of sense and is nothing but the flimsiest of excuses to save a valueable property after the disaster that was Highlander 2, but a lot of the core strengths that made the original so compelling are still here. Fantastic visuals, an odd but unique performance by Christopher Lambert and a surprisingly touching emotional core that keeps it all together. Generally this is a very appealing movie to look at. Whereas the original was inspired by the videoclip aesthetic of the eighties, Highlander 3 takes after the early nineties action and thriller genre. Harsh shadows, highly saturated Oranges and Blues, fluent camera movements and the trademark transitions between past and present from the original. After the dreadful style of the second one that looked like cheap direct to video trash this is a nice return to form.
While the romance doesn't work quite as well as it did in the first one, there isn't too much focus on it, and yet it's still used well to drive home just how sad and lonely immortality would be. I always call Highlander the best vampire movie, because it manages to convey that tragedy much better than almost any vampire movie, safe maybe for interview with the vampire.
This doesn't feel like the cash grab it could well have been. It smells of fanfilm, albeit a very competent one and had it ended there it would have been a very satisfying conclusion to a flawed series, tying up all the plot points of the story in a nice bow.
So far this review sounds rather glowing, so other than the obvious reason that there should have never been any sequels, what drags this movie back down to a 5 out of 10? Well, the former doesn't help admittedly, and the script seems rushed and unoriginal to the point where this feels more like a soft reboot than a sequel. Also, and Highlander fans are going to hate me for this: for a franchise based solely on kickass swordfights the swordfights in all the Highlander movies are actually really bad and awkward. Some of this can actually be attributed to Christopher Lambert's bad eyesight so I will cut him some slack, but even when there's a double involved (sometimes rather obviously as in the finale here) it always looks like two dudes just swatting metal sticks against another, not as it should, like the dangerous blade dance of two masters who have honed their craft for centuries. In Highlander 3 they at least try to edit around these flaws. It works a little bit...
The music isn't bad, it has a few good moments but of course it can't compete with the absolute juggernaut that was the Queen score of the first one.
Another problem is Mario van Peebles' performance. He looks freaking cool and in a different story his character could have worked but the over the top silliness clashes with the much more interesting character drama. It feels too much like he's trying to mimic Clancy Brown's iconic performance from the first Highlander, but even that one felt more grounded and layered. The unoriginal script is bubbling through the cracks here, as so many villain-defining moments are basically copied from the original.
Ultimately this is a deeply flawed movie but still very satisfying if you grew up with the original. It feels like coming home after a long time. There's a lot more mold than you remember, but it's still cozy.