Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007 Video) User Reviews

Typical Kawajiri Film, (a good thing)

[Ryoma-Nagare · 8/10 · 21 May 2007]

First things first, this is a typical Kawajiri film, as you may or may not know, Kawajiri is like a Japanese Frank Miller, meaning all his work share a distinctive feel to them, and follow a similar path story-wise. Some people call this auto-plagiarism, and bash it. However if you are like me, and have really liked his work, from Ninjascroll, to the Animatrix short, from "wicked city" to "vampire hunter D bloodlust", "lens-man", "Cyber city Oedo", etc etc. Then the mere prospect of watching some part of the highlander myth animated in this fashion will have your blood boiling. If you haven't guessed it yet, I really liked the film.

Lets start reviewing it part by part.

Story: It fits in the Highlander myth, this is not about any known Mcleod, so you may think of it as an alternative story-line. Everything is a little clichéd though, still beats the crap out of any Highlander sequel so far.

Setting: The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, very kawajirish, it has this "Fist of the north star" feeling to it, huge bad guys, wrecked urban landscapes, silent heroes, you know the drill.

Character design: Again typical kawajiri film, busty women, sharp factions, impossibly muscular males, you may love it or hate it, I really like it. This is no Inuyasha, boy....

Animation: Very Good, some less than stellar CG shots, and "matrix moments", if you can deal with that there are really well choreographed fights to be seen. Specially gorgeous are the fights that take place in the past.

Sound: Mostly OK, some voice overs could have been better, the movie comes in English just like Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust. There are some great accents to be heard when the Highlanders speak, however some secondary characters could have used better actors.

Music: Gorgeous, really symphonic gives the feeling of epic and greatness to the whole movie.

So if your love for highlander allows you to overlook some small flaws, and some kawajirisms you'll really like the movie.

There can be more than one!

[xamtaro · 8/10 · 21 August 2009]

They used to say "there can be only one" great highlander film.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present "great highlander film" number 2 and one of the best and most highly entertaining anime films of its genre.

"Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is one of the few rare anime co-productions created specifically for an international audience in mind. In highlander's case, up-and-coming Imagi Animation studios(creators of 2007's TMNT) teamed up with Davis-Panzer Productions and Madhouse Studios to produce this modern animated spectacle based loosely on the cult hit Highlander franchise. By "loosely" I mean that this Highlander show should be viewed as an "alternate universe" separate from the existing highlander movie and TV series; related only in the basic mythos of immortals, swords-n-sorcery, "the quickening" and other basic aspects of what makes Highlander "highlander".

Colin Macleod (the 4th named Macleod character following Connor, Duncan and Quentin. Though he is not officially a "Macleod" clansman by blood) travels the post apocalyptic wasteland or the world seeking to exact his revenge on the immortal Marcus Octavius. The reasons for his obsession with vengeance are told through flashbacks into the past in typical highlander style. We find out that Marcus was directly or indirectly responsible basically for every crappy thing that has ever happened to Colin. From The death of his first wife, to the discovery of Colin's immortality following his first fatal fight with Marcus and his subsequent branding as a devil and being hunted by his own clansmen. Through the course of history, Colin has tried many times to kill Marcus but ends up being severely out matched by his superior adversary. He arrives in a decimated New York in which Marcus Octavius has established himself as dictator. Teaming up with a band of rebels, including Dahlia, a woman who reminds him of his dead wife, Colin Macleod prepares to exact his revenge one final time.

Despite the small number of science fiction clichés like a rebel gang trying to take down an evil despot and some humanity killing virus, I found the story to be quite a strong one which presented a perspective on immortal life that was slightly different from the original Highlander. Where Connor in the original film treasured every moment of his immortal life, made numerous friends across the years, and went so far as to keep an entire room filled with mementos of his exploits throughout history, Colin has let the years slip by. Whatever new experiences he could have had, whatever friends he could have made, were always sidelined due to his obsession with vengeance. By the time we see him in the post apocalyptic setting, he is a lone wanderer with nothing to his name other than a fleeting memory of his wife, and an obsession that is as immortal as himself.

Unwillingness to change and unwillingness to let go of the past has even affected Colin's battle prowess. Unlike previous highlander protagonists, Colin never received proper sword training. His fighting style has never changed over the years, hence his numerous defeats. I like his very direct fighting style(he basically just waits for an opening and finishes off his opponent with a well placed strike), which actually stands in stark contrast to Marcus's fighting style(he has very calm and composed feel and likes to play around with his opponent, proving his superiority, before the final cut); each man's sword techniques mirror's their personality.

Also, I actually found this theme of how an obsession can drive someone to forsake the smaller but more important things in life (such as love and friendship) to be quite a heart wrenching one. This story theme can be even seen as a cautionary tale of sorts as parallels can be drawn between Colin's obsession and "workaholics" in the real world obsessed only in their work and forsaking so much more.

This intriguing story is complemented by some extremely beautiful animation. Yoshiaki Kawajiri applies his trademark style to Highlander making each fight scene a veritable visual feast with his dynamic shot angles, slow motion, and an extremely smooth animation frame-rate. Bloodletting is not as over-the-top as his previous work, ninja scroll, but it is sufficient to keep fans of bloody action happy. Oh yes, and in typical Kawajiri style, there is the mandatory nudity and sex scene in this movie(then again, there is a mandatory sex scene in every other Highlander movie, so nothing new here)

This film does suffer from a few low points here and there, namely in the pacing and the dialog. At times the movie moves along real slowly and this is not helped by the uninteresting script. At other times the show feels truncated and squeezed, with scenes rushing by or ending too abruptly. Also, a longer running time would have improved the narrative by a fair bit(86 minutes is too short to fully flesh out the story and back-story). The voice actors do a great job of instilling their characters with well rounded personalities and very realistic emoting on par with the acting in the original Highlander movie. Too bad about the lazy script and dialog they were given to work with.

Another low point would be how the movie expects the viewer to be familiar with aspects of the Highlander mythos like "the quickening" or the "no fighting on holy ground" rule. Such things are never clearly explained which might confuse the heck out of people who are new to the franchise.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is among one of the stronger entries into the Highlander franchise. As an anime film it is very appealing both story-wise and visual-wise. However, do not expect deep philosophical ramblings like Ghost in The Shell or heartwarming family stories like Ponyo. This is a straight forward action movie; pure unadulterated violence but with a great story, characters and some thought provoking underlying themes.

There can be only one... more

[dee.reid · 8/10 · 5 June 2007]

Legendary Japanese Anime' director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (the more-than-capable cult talent behind the explicit blood-letters "Ninja Scroll" and "Wicked City") took on the American "Highlander" series with this latest entry "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance." "The Search for Vengeance" is not a sequel per se, but is instead something closer to a Japanese animation re-imagining of the famous fantasy tale that spawned the immortal tag-line, "There can be only one."

For those not versed in "Highlander" mythology, I'll fill you in: "Highlander" first came to be in the mind of writer Gregory Widen, who in turn pitched his idea to studio bosses about an ages-old battle between a group of immortal swordsmen who can only die by one another's hand, specifically by decapitation. When one of these immortals falls, his killer gains his knowledge and strength (such an event is called a "quickening") and he will continue his pursuit of the mystical "prize" during a time called the "gathering" when these epic sword battles take place. There are several rules all immortals must abide by though: never fight on holy ground and, most importantly, never fall in love with a mortal because, then, you will only know pain and suffering.

Widen's script (co-written with Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson) was made into the 1986 cult film "Highlander," which starred Christopher Lambert as the Scottish Highlander Connor MacLeod, who discovers his "gift" after suffering a mortal wound on the battlefield and assumes different identities as he descends through the ages with the knowledge of never knowing death. "Highlander" saw three misshapen sequels, a television series (which starred Adrian Paul), and dozens of comic books before we landed at this new Anime' film from Kawajiri. As a fan of Anime' and the first "Highlander" movie, you could expect a little bit of skepticism about a new film, whether animated or not just because we've become so used to expecting so little from the series.

Like the first "Highlander," "The Search for Vengeance" is equal parts present-story and back-story, with sudden, unexpected transitions between the present and the past. In the year 2187, Scotsman Colin MacLeod (with no stated relationship to Connor) meets his fate on the battlefield and discovers his allegiance to the band of immortals. And, Holy Lazarus, he is branded a witch by his former countrymen and is watched over by the wise-cracking spirit of a Druid priest named Amergan. For 2000 years, MacLeod has been searching through the ages chasing his mortal enemy, the Roman general Marcus Octavius, after Octavius crucified MacLeod's wife Moya in the 16th century and in these encounters, MacLeod is always bloodily outmatched and left crippled but alive and ready to fight another time (despite refusing to uphold Moya's dying wish of no retribution for her killing).

Now in a post-apocalyptic New York City, MacLeod arrives on the scene and joins rebel Dahlia and an underground band of freedom fighters in a desperate battle against Octavius, who is now a full-fledged dictator and rules the city from, dare I say, a futuristic version of Trump Tower with his army of robotic sentinels and scientists working on a top-secret project meant to wipe out the underground resistance once and for all. In these battles, we also get flashbacks to Colin's past, the battles he's fought with Octavius, and his undying love for Moya.

While suffering from some script problems, because of the transitions between past and present, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is still one heck of a film experience. This is perhaps because of an outsider's view, Kawajiri's view. In Kawajiri's hands, the series now seems fresh and full of new life, with many new technical innovations on the story and characters. For 21 years now since 1986, we've had to endure one painful "Highlander" experience after the other. Here, it's clear that Kawajiri has a firm grip on the story and knows everywhere the "Highlander" sequels went wrong (and they went wrong in a lot of places).

Another problem the film suffers from are one-dimensional characters. A skilled swordsman like Colin MacLeod, a man who has literally fallen through time and lives with the burden of knowing he will never die, is transformed into more of a one-note, tortured loner, or even a ronin (a master-less samurai). Perhaps the samurai angle is because of the Japanese influence on the story. The only other character who really stands out in any real way is Dahlia, who has a secret connecting her to Macleod's past and eventually becomes his love interest. Octavius is different from most "Highlander" villains in that he is not crazy and all over the place, but is instead soft-spoken, never raises his voice, and highly sexual with his Japanese mistress (is Clancy Brown, who played the Kurgan in the first "Highlander," the best the movies have to offer?). And lastly, am I the only one who thinks Octavius looks like the villain Gemma from Kawajiri's previous "Ninja Scroll"?

Even with its faults, nudity and extremely bloody violence, this is nonetheless a fitting reinvention of a fantasy story that many thought had long outlived its uniqueness in the genre. For many, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is at last the sequel we've been waiting for.

8/10

Anime version of an alternative Highlander, better than any sequel made in the Higlander film series

[chrichtonsworld · 7/10 · 28 May 2007]

This version is an alternative of the original Highlander movie! The rules (concerning immortals) are the same and the story involves a character originated from the Highlands (Scotland)! His name is Colin Mcleod from the clan Mcleod! Other than this there is no relation to the film series or the TV show! But I have to say I enjoyed this a whole lot better than any sequel made after the original Highlander! The animation is beautiful and there is plenty of action! Even the story (simple but effective) is enjoyable! As a first animated movie this is a great one! This anime revives the "Highlander" myth in such a way that movie producers of any sequel from the Higlander film series should wonder what they are doing wrong! I don't know if there are plans to make a sequel! But if there aren't any there should be!

Colin just does not belong in the clan.

[jazz-14 · 6/10 · 10 June 2007]

This film is a bit of a disappointment. I was primed to see another chapter of the Highlander story, and that is what I got. But, it wasn't a very interesting chapter.

I give this film an A for Visual Production. Wow! The colors, the line quality and rendering, the smooth tracking, the foreground - background separations and tracking, all of it was just enrapturing. I rarely was pulled out of the visuals to question or second guess what was done.

I give it a B for Sound Production. The vocals and soundtrack were good, but not stunning. It was clear, and the emotions came through at the right times. I was left wanting a bit more in sweep and depth though. I guess I was looking for THX and got stereo. Considering the great visuals, the sound suffered in comparison.

I give it a C for Story. Just very lackluster. It started well. The potential for interesting characters was there at every turn. But they didn't integrate into the Highlander mythology well at all. And they had every opportunity. Colin as the Protagonist, and Marcus as the Antagonist, are both just cardboard cutouts. Worse, Marcus is cut from better cardboard than Colin. He at least has a Darth Vader imperial feel that doesn't need much explaining. Colin is a young goof at the beginning, and has grown into an old, angry, and bitter goof by the time the action of the film picks up. Even his guardian angel points this out. I just was not impressed by his story, or the general arc of this film.

The side characters and their stories were actually more interesting to me. Colin meets a few women along the way, and they have some substance behind their facades. Two exhibit some real leadership qualities. This is hinted at, but left completely unexplored. The "gun moll" even seems to have an interesting back-story (a woman(!) fighting(!!) in a medieval Japanese army?) but she too is just wallpaper in the end. Very pretty wallpaper, but nothing more. You find this out then can immediately forget it. Just wasted writing. I think with a few tweaks this could have been a smörgåsbord. Instead it was like window-shopping. Frustrating! Overall, if you want a flashy movie, this is it. The visuals are top notch in all respects. But Just * Don't * Think * About * It. Especially if you would like to see a story that runs somewhat in parallel with the first Highlander film or the television series. Colin just does not belong in the clan.

Highlander has never looked better

[xindi005 · 10/10 · 10 June 2007]

I have just purchased HIGHLANDER: THE SEARCH FOR Vengeance from my local wally-world and I was blown away from the very beginning.

I'm a bit familiar with the body of work that the crew at madhouse have done (NINJA SCROLL AND X come to mind) and I have to say that this one is the best yet from him. I'm also glad that the guys who brought HIGHLANDER to life in the first place had a hand with it.

I won't ruin the story for those that are reading this review, but if you are familiar with anime and the sweeping style that comes with it, as well as the movies that I've mentioned, then you will not be disappointed.

Watch it, rent it, buy it! Enjoy it.

A decent continuation of the Highlander mythology

[Robert_90 · 7/10 · 14 January 2008]

The Highlander mythology was always one of the coolest concepts for a movie - immortal swordsmen battling each other across the ages until one remained. Combine the potential within with the skills of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the man responsible for Ninja Scroll, and you sound like you have quite a winner on your hands.

The Search for Vengeance is about the plight of Colin Macleod, the eponymous Highlander, and his centuries-long feud with Marcus, a Roman general who murdered Colin's true love. Time and time again throughout history, Colin and Marcus clash with each other until they come to their final showdown amidst a futuristic New York riddled with plague and war.

Like any continuation of Highlander, The Search for Vengeance crafts its own fiction by combining the original's mythology (holy ground, Quickenings, death-by-beheading etc) with several of its own ideas (in this case, demons, robots and spirits). Although some of the more fantastical elements (e.g. Colin's communication with a druid-like ghost) grated a little, they're tolerable enough changes to the Highlander world. In the end, it feels like it leans more towards the animé side of things.

As for the film itself - visually, it's pretty good. The animation is fluid and the action looks great. The constant changing of era (a staple of the Highlander series) works a treat, as you see battles of all kinds across the centuries. The showdowns look a treat as well (I expect nothing less from the maker of Ninja Scroll), as do the battles during the futuristic scenes. I will say that fair chunks of the plot are fairly clichéd and if you've ever really watched prior Highlander material, you can probably predict a fair bit of it.

The last word on The Search for Vengeance - who do I really recommend it to? It's a decent enough watch for anyone with even a passing interest in animé, and it's a more watchable experience for Highlander fans than the film sequels, but outside of those two groups, it'd be a little hard to recommend. In any case, it was a decent watch and if you need a good fix of sword-fighting or animé, this isn't a bad choice.

A great new direction for Highlander

[Rautus · 10/10 · 1 August 2007]

Being a fan of the Highlander franchise I was interested in seeing what this anime movie of Highlander was going to be like so I bought and I was impressed with it, it was a great movie. Highlander: The Search for Vengeance captures the element of the movie and series perfectly, the rules about the Immortals, The Quickening, the changing between the past and present. The animation is beautifully done and amazing to watch and it feels like Highlander.

The film sees a young man Collin MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod in the future searching for a Immortal named Marcus who killed his wife and attacked his village years ago and since then he's been travelling from place to place down through the centuries trying to kill him but every time they encounter he beats him, now in a post-apocalyptic world Collin is still searching for him to get his revenge, he reaches New Jersey and encounters a group of creatures feeding on people and after defeating some of them a Immortal shows up but not the one he wants, the huge Immortal takes out a massive Chainsaw and attacks Collin and a battle begins. Collin chops off his head and absorbs the power of the Quickening while in New York the Immortal Marcus and his Immortal partner see it from a distance. Collin then goes to New York where he's confronted by Robot Guards and a human, he gives them the head and gets paid he then let into the city. While in the car he uses the guards gun to kill the Robot guards in the other car then breaks out. He meets a young boy tells him where the nearest bar is, Collin goes there and sits down drinking but soon he meets a young women named Dahlia who reminds him of his wife in the past, he follows her into the sewers and finds a underground civilisation where the people are safe from Marcus, some of the people are being killed from a virus in New York and they need the vaccine but the only ones are in the huge tower, at first Collin has no interest in helping them until he discovers that Marcus is in the tower and his search for vengeance would be completed so he offers to help.

Going down through the sewer they're attacked by a huge Alligator but Collin just chops it's head off without any fear, continuing through the sewers they reach the tower and then Collin smashes in and kills the Robot guards then the other two jump in, she takes the guard's weapon and they continue going inside, they discover the lab and find the vaccine but they also discover that Marcus has been creating the virus that been infecting people in New York, suddenly the alarm goes off and while Dahlia and the kid are being attacked by the guards Collin senses Marcus's Quickening and goes into the lift, while going to the main floor the Spirt tells him that he shouldn't do this since every time he tries to kill Marcus he fails but Collin doesn't want to hear it since he wants his revenge. Reaching the top floor he meets Marcus and they fight, Collin gets smashes outside and they fight down the roof but Collin gets knocked down and falls from great hight failing again to kill Marcus. Collin smashes into the base where Dahlia and the kid see him there, he runs off while Dahlia checks him out and suddenly she sees that he's alive again and carries him out of the base. While unconscious he meets the Spirt again in his mind and he tells him that Dahlia is his wife are the same person, her spirit is inside her. Waking up he sees Dahlia and then he goes to see all the people cheering at him, then they decide to attack the guards and reclaim the city while Collin goes with them to confront Marcus for the final time and get his vengeance.

I won't give out anymore of the film's plot, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is a great new entry in the Highlander franchise and should be seen. 10/10

Very disappointing

[SubtleFury · 6/10 · 14 September 2007]

I am big fan of Yoshiaki Kawajiri and it pains me to see such a production with his name on it. Yes, the visuals are great, but even they get irritating as the movie goes on, because someone decided that almost every action scene and many of the ordinary ones should be done with 3D, and when you see that same method re-used for the 50th time in just 80 minutes... well not only isn't it impressive anymore but very annoying.

Whatever the problems the movie had, I wouldn't be that disappointed if it wasn't the *STORY* - awful, cliché after cliché, unbelievably cheesy b-movie lines and one of the worst juxtaposion of sex scene ever (lighting candles??? what the hell?!)... The script really ruins everything good, and the characters are very flat and stereotypical, not to mention most of their designs are almost copy&paste from Kawajiri's previous works. And not only the characters are copied but whole scenes (e.g. the battle on the rooftops - Animatrix: Program), and though not 1:1 you still get a bitter deja-vu quite often.

So thank you but I'd stick with Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll - Highlander is no way near them.

This is Not a Good Movie. I Kinda Enjoyed It...

[DonaldDooD · 4/10 · 24 July 2014]

By pure coincidence, I've stumbled along most of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's filmography. His Lensman kickstarted my desire to find lesser-known animated films. But I'd never say it was a great movie. The only film I'd seriously recommend would be Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, his magnum opus.

Highlander: Search for Vengeance is not an exception to the rule. While it may legitimately be the best Highlander sequel, it falls back on tired tropes seen in his previous films, yet takes itself too seriously.

It tries to tell a tragic tale, Colin MacLeod hunting his arch-nemesis for twenty centuries, wasting his immortality for a pursuit he always fails. The scenes in the past are actually not too bad, honestly. Unfortunately, the plot in the present future is by the numbers. In post-apocalypse, Colin finds love and revenge, leading a rebellion against a force less accurate than Stormtroopers, ascending a towering skyscraper to the final showdown. It brings up the negative effect of hatred, but after briefly contemplating, Colin still earns his revenge. Why he succeeds this time is beyond me.

It is kinda fun, though. The animation is fairly good, the action fast. Most importantly, there are dozens of cheesy moments. Giant chainsaws and gators, bad-ass chicks, delayed sword slashes...the clichés show little restraint. The World War II scene should be legendary. I'd compare it to Goku Midnight Eye, but at least GME was consistently campy - Highlander's failure to be a good, serious action film reduces its enjoyment as a bad, funny action film. There's still a lot of dumb fun to be had, if you can tolerate a generic plot, a bad ending, and a pretty gruesome crucifixion.

It gets 4 out of 10 for sheer ineptitude. It may be a good anime for Bad Movie Night, but there's a chance that choice will backfire.

There can only be one,and this one tells all

[TimothyMcKann · 10/10 · 12 June 2007]

When I first learned that this film was going to be released on DVD. I have to say that out of all the action anime I have seen.This one tops all of them. But after seeing the online trailer. I had to get this film,and that is exactly what I did. When I bought the film on DVD,it was loaded. I never seen anything like it. My favorite character is this film is Colin. I also want to say that he has lived for 2,000 years,and he has never aged. He is pretty cool in different settings,and wars. But however,this one is the most violent film,I have ever seen. So, if you are a huge Highlander fan,then you have to see this film.And be careful when watching it. It can mess with your head.

Animated

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 24 February 2008]

I agree with another user here, that this animated entry into the Highlander saga is indeed better than the real life sequels to the original Highlander. I still wasn't entirely convinced about this movie. Set in the (apocalyptic) future, I've seen better animes than this one. One of them being "Fist of the North Star". You can't really compare those two movies (although apart from the time setting, there seem to be some other similar parts) other than the fact that they are both animes.

And of course the fact, that these movies are not suitable for children. It's again the fact, that some animated movies are for an adult audience. And this one too, for it's depicting/showing of violence. My summary then-> It won't be a waste of time if you watch this movie, but it won't blow your mind either! :o)

Solid Anime stuff but material, dialogue and characters are lacking

[bob the moo · 14 October 2007]

There can be only one, but Conner MacLeod is less concerned with becoming the sole remaining immortal with all the power he could wish, and more concerned with seeking revenge from one immortal in particular. Responsible for the death of his one true love, this immortal has presided over the empire of Rome, the Third Reich and other immoral and evil forces. Now in the future, he continues to hold sway over a New York that has fallen due to terrorism and biological warfare. Entering the city, MacLeod is only looking for another try at revenge but finds more than he expected.

Despite Highlander 2 and 3, I did quite enjoy Endgame and so I decided to take a look at this ahead of maybe seeing the live-action sequel later this year. I have no real issue with Anime even if it does rather tend to look very similar in style from film to film. Nor am I a massive fan of the Highlander films but I do quite like both of these things. In regards Anime the film does look good and there is plenty of visual style to be had here. Fans of the genre will appreciate it because it does look a bit like everything else you will have seen.

Where it falls down is what it does with this style, because the material is sadly lacking. The story does similar stuff to what the series has done before. By digging up MacLeod's old partner the film does rather tread old ground and it offers nothing new with it. On top of this we have characters that are superficial and simplistic , with nothing outside of the action. Of course the script mostly being corny dialogue doesn't help anything and, in regards the narrative, there isn't much beyond the tough posturing, sexy girls and solid action. The voice work is OK for what the material is but nothing more.

Overall then an OK Anime film that does a lot of what you expect from the genre. However apart from this, the material is lacking and does little more than produce a simple script that Highlander fans will have seen before and few will care about.

... it was good, for the Highlander Franchise.

[theleatherlash · 5/10 · 20 June 2009]

Unfortunately, besides the original "Highlander" ~ this is, without a doubt, the best Highlander movie in the Franchise. I recommend watching it; even if it does go a little far. I'm not an anime fan, but I was a fan of this movie; in that it was not as horrible as End Game or Source. ;-P

The movie was a little odd, but fit the story line loosely enough; and it definitely kept things interesting. Again, I'm not a fan of anime, but it had a lot of action, and brought back the romantic image of "immortal swordsmen" in a way I hadn't seen in far, far to long in the other movies. While the main character had obvious faults, the stubbornness was a little endearing as things continued. ;)

Highlander

[WeAreLive · 7/10 · 9 February 2020]

The lone warrior Colin travels with the wise-cracking ghost Amergan through the ages searching for the immortal despot Marcus Octavius, who killed his lover on the Celtic plains tens of centuries ago. On his quest, he discovers New York is submerged, and one dominant monolith fortress towers over the seas. Colin can save the survivors, but his sword only hungers for the blood of one man. Despite many lifetimes of training, Colin has failed to vanquish Marcus on the great battlefields of history. Can he finish what he started and stop Marcus? Will Colin lead the people to freedom or become consumed by hate? There can be only one.

The movie in general I found pretty enjoyable. It also had a very good dub, with both american and canadian voice actors involved plus seeing Nolan North in an anime dub was a real treat.

Looks like a typical Japanese heroic anime, but it's hollow inside

[siderite · 7/10 · 9 March 2015]

I heard this was the best Highlander film out there, with the exception of the first, of course, and I also love good Japanese anime, so I thought it was going to be a win-win. Wrong. While the animation is well done, the script is abysmal, the characters cardboard and the story the lowest common denominator in Japanese and Hollywood visions (the writer of the script is not Japanese).

The story is that of Colin, who gets the honorary and completely pointless McCloud after he helps the Scottish clan in a battle. He is on a quest for vengeance against the guy who killed his girl. He goes on doing that for more than 2000 years, relentlessly. That's it. Nothing more. The bad guy is a Roman who wants to create the perfect order, so he is progressively furthering every dictatorship that ever existed: Japanese warlord, Nazi, etc. and now, in the post apocalyptic future, he built his own little empire, again.

The fact that every time Colin appeared and destroyed this guy's dreams I was thinking of "God dammit, why do every time Chinese people try to build up a wall, Mongolian people have to come and knock it down!" did not help to make me take this film seriously.

Bottom line: the ridiculously simplistic and clichéd script, with weak undeveloped characters stoped me from enjoying the otherwise good (but in no way original) animation. Almost a complete waste of time.

OK -if you don't have anything else better to do

[alesa_666 · 8/10 · 7 September 2007]

I can't say is the best anime seen by me...i was a little disappointed in seeing that the idea of people living underground and the fact that they eat rats resembles with the one in Demolition man ,also the final image of the sun rising was like the one in Wonderful days but without the same effect.Don't try to find strong relationships between the characters,there are none.The main character is boring but trying to be mysterious.The good part is that it has no boring dialogue and there is a lot of action but some parts of the anime are predictable. The story is plain but it's OK if you don't have anything to watch... there is worse anime than this.

Highlander, the inmortals always have to be shown within a cyberpunch film

[learnspeakthink · 8/10 · 2 December 2023]

Talking about the inmortals implies the idea of death itself, only a cyberpunk film could shown the demise of the whole world as an action movie. WE ARE NOT ALONE, not only a personal history is important (Colin MacLeod and his seeking of vengeance) while the WHOLE world is decaying more than for its villains for inmortals like Colin that never gave importance to nothing that their own vengeance or being the sole inmortal

And in cyberpunks films the main body of the film gives more than the fatal and usually final.

Perhaps some people never understood that, and never gave a chance to the film of Kawajiri, the script of David Abramowitz and the music of HIM: The Sacrament.

"Ninja Scroll" set in the "Highlander"-universe – curious but, in the end, just doesn't work

[t_atzmueller · 5/10 · 15 February 2012]

Some crossovers work, some don't; sadly, "Highlander – Search for Vengeance" belongs to the second category. Not just that but it seems that certain films don't translate into other mediums. As example, I'd like to point out the live action adaptation of the anime "Fist of the North Star" – it worked fine as a cartoon but was a rather laughable film. Although not as awful as mentioned "Fist of the North Star" live action, "Highlander – Search for Vengeance" remains somewhat of a failed experiment.

Being both a fan of the original "Highlander"-franchise and mildly interested in anime ("Ninja Scroll" being among my favourites), I looked forward to seeing this film and knowing that this wouldn't be a kids cartoon, like the awful "Highlander"-animated-series, expected a more adult-oriented approach. It was, giving us that graphic violence which we've come to expect from this particular type of anime but more blood and gore never equated to a better "Highlander" film.

Where did it go wrong? In my personal opinion, the supernatural elements never had a place in the franchise, being part of the trouble that has plagued "Highlander"-sequels and TV-shows. "It's a kind of magic", and that's all that the "Highlander"-fan needs to know. That was the magic of the original "Highlander" concept: these were people like you and me, with the exception that they were immortal, fought with mean-a** swords and had to fight to the last man. What we get here are demons, cyborgs and sorcerers, set in an end-time scenario, which would fit better in a "Fist of the North Star"-film; hence, the flashback-sequences are the highlight of the film. I could go on and point out that the abominable "Highlander: The Source" took place in a similar setting, using the concept "magic" short of making Duncan McLeod pulling a rabbit from a hat. However, that wouldn't do "Search for Vengeance" justice – even if flawed, the anime is infinitely better than the (hopefully) final "Highlander" film.

For 'conservative' "Highlander"-fans, "Search for Vengeance", especially those not familiar with anime, is an odd little curiosity – for anime fans it's regular fare, pretty much "Ninja Scroll" set in the "Highlander"-universe.

Giving it 5 points from 10 would be very well-meaning.

If you're a fan of the original movie and didn't care more for the sequels or TV series...

[bringer348 · 8/10 · 17 September 2007]

I think you will enjoy this film. I only ever enjoyed the first Highlander film. So much so that I would consider myself to be a huge fan of it (I'd owned the laser disc way back and have owned several different versions of the DVD) The TV series didn't really do much for me and I thought the sequels were all terrible.

I'm not usually a fan of anime but I think this is probably the best anime I've seen since watching Akira long ago (and I would probably say that I enjoyed this movie more than Akira. I'm also a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki but I would never compare Akira or Highlander to his films since he's on a different level all together.) I wouldn't really compare Highlander to other anime films though since the story is much different and probably much easier for western audiences to grasp. Not going off on strange esoteric philosophical tangents etc. Less convoluted rather and a bit more focused than most anime I've seen anyways.

I have to admit I don't really like fantasy oriented anime much at all (aside from Hayao Miyazaki). I mainly don't like fantasy anime because it's a series of "what ifs" as though anything were possible and I find that rather boring. I guess I'm somewhat into realism. Fantasy anime is what 99% of the anime that is so popular these day is really (that I've noticed anyways) but I enjoyed this film much more that I'd expected too since it retains the highlander story in historical past as well as a post apocalyptic setting (love post apocalyptic movies). It has much more depth to it than you could imagine really.

There's a few bits towards the end that kind of turned me off from it (some references to religion and stuff and Colin finding love and a home in the setting from the original movie even though he's lived close to 1400 years already... Seemed a bit forced to me because I would think as that much time has passed, all the battles he's waged through etc he wouldn't really feel that intimate with becoming a MacLeod all of a sudden) but these are minor things that I don't think the vast majority of people would even bother to notice. I think fans of the first movie will really enjoy this and I think of it as being better than the TV series or and of the sequels that followed the original movie.

How it should be done!

[dragonsedge-77508 · 10/10 · 9 February 2022]

I watch this more than any of the live action Movies or shows.

Has great action scenes and the Animation is just Beautiful as expected from Manga releases.

They should have done more in this form.

If you enjoyed Vampire Hunter D or Ninja Scroll then you'll definitely enjoy this one as well.

While not the best Kawajiri film, it's definitely better than any of the Highlander sequels.

[jvle100 · 8/10 · 6 October 2009]

As one has to expect from Yoshiaki Kawajiri, this film will get you glued to the screen, it has loads of action, a decent story, and details typical from previous films Kawajiri's directed before (A cynical hero, strong willed women, ruthless and cunning villains, and annoying, but wise, old men).However, it seems to lack the distinctive "atmosphere" that previous Kawajiri anime flicks had (at least in my opinion, for those who have seen Ninja Scroll or Cyber City Oedo you can feel that "darker" atmosphere). Probably because the color scheme was brighter. I won't spoil the story, as it's very interesting and you'll probably and up watching it even if you aren't a Highlander fan. As for this movie, its not linked to the original in any way (sans the immortality plot), but somehow demonstrates how the follow-ups should have been, instead of making those bad sequels with rather bad concepts.

Very Enjoyable!

[steveatwal · 8/10 · 19 June 2021]

Great storyline, anime, and characters! Thoroughly enjoyable 👏

Enjoyable anime that gave us the best Highlander sequel

[wright240597 · 8/10 · 26 February 2012]

Sequels to the 1986 original Highlander weren't exactly groundbreaking achievements, but this, the 6th movie in the series trumps them all and may even give us the best entry in the entire franchise.

Highlander: Search for Vengeance goes down the same path, switching between the past and the main plot with the immortal Colin MacLeod remembering back over the past 2000 years when he fought and died many times, the first example being in 2nd century Scotland when his wife is murdered by a Roman general, Marcus Octavius, who is also immortal.

Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) sets us through many different battles in history expertly, putting lots of attention to detail for the settings (especially in the post apocalyptic New York City of the year 2187).

The English dub voiceovers are great, especially Alastair Abell, who does a much better job than Christopher Lambert with a Scottish accent in the flashback sequences that span the first 1000 years of Colin and Marcus' existence as immortals, and voice acting veteran Scott McNeil taking 3 roles including Colin's ghostly accomplice and mentor Amergan is on top form.

A well written story, with well developed main characters and impressive battle scenes that don't skimp on the violence and bloodshed, Highlander: Search for Vengeance is a must for fans of the original and anime fans alike.